Havana, July 7 (JIT) - The Cuban volleyball team led by world star Robertlandy Simón travels this Thursday to Nayarit, Mexico, venue from July 11 to 17 of the Norceca Final Six Pan American Cup that will grant a ticket to the continental multisport event in Santiago 2023.
Alongside the capital's giant will be center backs Roamy Alonso (Matanzas) and Javier Concepción (Havana), and corner attackers Miguel Ángel López (Cienfuegos), Marlon Yant (Villa Clara), Osniel Mergarejo (Sancti Spíritus) and Julio César Cárdenas (Matanzas).
The opposites are Miguel Sánchez Bozhuleva (Havana), left-handed Jesús Herrera (Artemisa) and Miguel David Gutiérrez (Villa Clara); as passers Adrián Goide (Sancti Spíritus) and Liván Taboada (Havana), and as liberos Yonder García (Havana) and José Miguel Gutiérrez (Villa Clara).
Regarding the team that won the Norceca Final Four Challenger in Pinar del Rio 2022, blocker Liván Osoria and setter Christian Thondike are absent, while Simón will be making his debut this season with the national team.
Nicolás Vives, technical director, will be assisted by Yosvany Muñoz. Completing the group will be doctor Ramses Raymond, physiotherapist Pedro Roche and national commissioner Jorge Sosa, who will lead the delegation.
The tournament will also contribute to the preparation for the World Challenger to be held in South Korea from July 27 to 31, whose winner will qualify for the Volleyball Nations League 2023.
The team from the Greater Antilles, the most complete in recent years, will debut on Monday against the Dominican Republic and then face the United States (12), Canada (13), Puerto Rico (14) and Mexico (15).
The top four teams will meet in the semifinal round on the 16th, based on second vs. third place and first vs. fourth place. The winners of these challenges will play for the Cup and the losers for the bronze medal on Sunday 17.
The main Dominican, Mexican and Puerto Rican teams are expected to participate, but not the U.S. and Canadian teams, as they are participating in the 2022 Volleyball Nations League.
