Havana, June 5 (RHC).- Supported by a superlative block, Canada beat Cuba 3 sets to 1, at the beginning of the second week of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).

In another hard-fought clash in Ottawa, the northerners scored no less than 18 points from blocks and knew how to prevail in crucial moments, also taking advantage of too many unforced errors by the Cubans. It was the fifth setback for the Cubans against the Canadians in as many outings in recent times.

“There was a fight on the field, but the difference was that in some key moments we were not able to take advantage of the difference,” commented coach Jesús Cruz in statements to Radio Havana Cuba.

He added that the only option we have left is to “go out and get the victory” in each outing and asked the fans to continue supporting the team.

Jesús Cruz's troop could not count on his inspiring figure, the star Robertlandy Simón, due to a back injury.

Center back Mccarthy was lethal in blocking (7 points) and attackers Eric Loeppki (22 points) and Timothy Maar (20), both from the brand new Italian runners-up Monza, carried the team's offensive weight up front.

Cuba had flashes from its stars Marlon Yant Herrera (19) and Miguel Angel López (18), while center back Javier Concepción scored 11.

In the fourth quarter, the Cubans had a clear lead of three points, but they made several errors and the Canadians, inspired by a delirious fan, managed to come back to take the victory in the quarter and avoid the tie break.

With the costly setback, the Cubans lost almost 9 points in the Olympic qualification ranking for Paris 2024 (8.98) and maintain ninth place (252.19).

In other matches on Tuesday and Wednesday, the United States defeated Argentina 3-0, Poland defeated Bulgaria 3-1, Slovenia defeated Turkey 3-0, Brazil defeated Germany 3-0, and Japan defeated Iran 3-0.

Cuba's next match will be on Thursday against the Netherlands, another team that is in search of its Olympic qualification, so a victory would be very important.