Miguel Angel López and Robertlandy Simón

Havana, Jun 19 (RHC) - In a match in which no less than 75 unforced errors were committed, Cuba squandered a 2-0 lead and ended up losing in 5 sets to Serbia (25-22, 25-21, 16-25, 21-25 and 12-15), in a very important match for both teams at the beginning of the third set.

The match played in Slovenia was key for both teams, as they are direct rivals for the last Olympic ticket to Paris.

It was a tense match with many lost serves by both teams, in the case of the Cubans a staggering 41.

Opposite Luburic carried the offensive weight for the Europeans, with 21 points, while for Cuba Miguel Angel Lopez also scored 21.

In the Olympic qualification ranking, the Serbians now took a dangerous lead of more than 10 points over the Cubans (10.81).

Earlier on Wednesday, Germany beat Olympic champion France 3-1 and Iran defeated the United States 3-2.

On Tuesday, Slovenia defeated Argentina 3-0 and assured its presence in the next Olympic Games.

Slovenia leads the table 8-1 (21 points), followed by Italy 7-1 (21 points) and Brazil 6-3 (19 points).

The Cubans are now 4-5 and hold eighth place in the VNL with 13 points.