Havana, June11 (RHC)--The Cuban men's national team said goodbye this Saturday with a 3-2 success against Brazil in its last presentation in the first week of Pool 1 of the Nations League, held in Ottawa, Canada.
According to the site of the International Federation www.fivb.com, the disciples of Nicolas Vives won the first set, 25-16, lost the second and third, 22-25 and 27-29, evened the score in the fourth, 25-22, and finished off the fifth with a close score of 20-18.
For the Cubans this was the only win in four matches, as in the three previous outings they lost to the Canadians 3-2 (25-21, 26-21, 25-21, 22-25 and 15-13), to the Dutch, 3-0 (28-26, 25-23 and 25-18), and to the Italians, 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 20-25 and 25-18), in that order.
The official statistics of the match reflect Cuba's better results in attacking (70 points to 67), blocking (14-8) and serving (5-2), while Brazil contributed fewer points due to their own errors (30-33).
Jesus Herrera, top scorer of the match with 30 points, 26 in attack, two in blocking and two in service, followed by Brazil's Aboubacar Dramé (23/21-1-1), was a key piece in the success.
Marlon Yant (19/17-2-0), Miguel Angel Lopez (16/14-0-2) and Javier Concepcion (13/8-4-1) also stood out for Cuba with double digits, while for Brazil, Lucarelli Souza (20/19-0-1), Henrique Rodrigues (11/8-3-0) and Flavio Resende (10/7-3-0) also stood out.
Cuba will continue its action in the League of Nations in the second week in Orleans, France, with the teams of Japan, Slovenia, the host and Bulgaria, while in the third week they will have as rivals the United States, Serbia, Germany and Iran, based in the U.S. city of Anaheim.
As planned by the technical staff of the largest of the Antilles, after the games in Ottawa, the Cubans will travel to Havana to continue their preparation for the Central American and Caribbean Games of San Salvador 2023, a multi-sport event scheduled from June 23 to July 8.
The best eight teams will be in the final of the League, from July 19 to 23 in Gdansk, Poland, a stage to which Cuba will advance if it finishes among the top seven teams or eighth, but if the Poles are among the top eight, which will play in a single-game knockout format.
The first-place team will face the eighth-place team in the quarterfinals, the second-place team will face the seventh-place team, the third-place team will face the sixth-place team and the fourth-place team will face the fifth-place team.
The teams that lose will be placed from fifth to eighth in the event, while the winners will advance to the semifinals to define the candidates for the title and the bronze medal.
