Havana, April 11 (JIT)-- Cubans Miguel Angel Lopez and Michael "El Ruso" Sanchez could not advance with their clubs to the semifinals of the Brazilian Volleyball Super League 2024.

Their respective teams, Sada Cruzeiro and Minas, gold and silver medalists last year, lost for the second time to Renata and Guarulhos, in that order, in the third duel of the quarterfinal series.

In a thrilling match in front of their fans, the light blue team was surprised by the visitors, who took the match to the tie-break to win with scores of 19-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19 and 15-13.) It was one of the closest matches of the season, according to the Otempo website.

Despite the 25 points of the so-called "flying Cuban", Sada, champion of the last two editions and the club with the most titles in the Superliga (8), was left out of the semifinal for the first time since 2021.

In this decisive match they could not impose their rhythm in the serve or their strong attack against an opponent that took advantage of a good blocking and knew how to grow at the right moment. They also committed fewer errors (25), compared to 32 for the defending champions.

Minas also lost in the last match of the quarterfinals phase against Guarulhos by 3-0 sets (25-19, 25-18, 25-22). It did not perform as well as in the first match, when it won in four sets.

The team from São Paulo, with one win away and one at home, advanced to the semifinal against Renata. It will be the first occasion that no team from Minas Gerais has reached the final since 2018. On that occasion, Sesi-SP and Taubaté decided the title.