Havana, September 15 (RHC) - A team of impressive stature studded with young talent will defend Cuba's colors in the men's volleyball Norceca Final Six, scheduled to begin next Tuesday in Edmonton, Canada.
The 2.08m, 20-year-old opposite Alejandro Miguel Gonzalez leads the group of 12 players - average age of 20.4 and height over 2.00m - in which several champions of the U21 Pan American Cup in Havana in June stand out.
Along with Gonzalez, signed in the Czech League for next season and considered one of the island's top volleyball prospects, most of the U21 champions, where Cuba was crowned undefeated, with two victories over the United States.
The picks include center backs Thiago Suarez (2.12m), Jakdiel Contreras (2.03) and Angel Suarez (2.15), the latter the tallest indoor volleyball player in Cuba, and attacker Jose Ramon Gomez (1.90), all signed in foreign leagues.
The only experienced player on the team is Johan Leon (Pigasus of Greece), a 28-year-old assistant, but without much elite national team experience, while the youngest is Felix Rodriguez, a 17-year-old 2.10m assistant.
Mario Izquierdo will be at the helm of the sextet with Manuel de Jesus as assistant.
It has been more than a decade since Cuban volleyball has not fielded a second team in a tournament at a regional level.
Cuba will open its schedule on Tuesday 19 against Mexico, on the 20th it will play against Puerto Rico, on the 21st against Canada, on the 22nd against the Dominican Republic and will close the qualifying round on the 23rd against the United States.
The first two qualifiers will clash on September 24 for the crown.
The Cuban national team, which includes Miguel Angel Lopez, Jesus Herrera, Marlon Yant and its top players, is preparing for the Pre-Olympic Games, scheduled for September 30 to October 8 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
