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Ticket to World Championships assured
Ariel B. Coya
WITHOUT further ado, the Cuban men’s volleyball team
classified for the World Championships in Italy next
year after defeating Canada during the last round of
the North, Central America, and Caribbean (NORCECA)
qualifiers. The game took place in the Ciudad
Deportiva Coliseum.
While Orlando Samuels’s team easily beat its weak
opponents – Surinam and the Bahamas – in the first
two games, the players fought relentlessly against
the demanding North American opponents, whom they
defeated in three sets (25-21, 25-19, 26-24). An
excellent job, which won them a ticket to the world
championships, undefeated and without losing a
single set.
This
time, the offensive fell on the shoulders of
Wilfredo León, who scored as many points as his age
in years (16) after having traveled the world in
less than 60 days. That is no easy feat. Among the
demands of the World League and the Junior World
Championships, he had practically just got off the
plane.
The
experience accumulated in the last World League,
where Cuba finished fourth – surpassing all
predictions – was not in vain for Samuels, as it was
important for the level of competition played last
night. From here, the volleyball team returns to
work after a short rest with some youthful
reinforcements for the current team in the positions
of center and receiver. In addition to that, Samuels
assures, plans for raising the team’s competitive
edge should be completed. At the end of the day, the
objective for the World Championships is clear:
arriving in good form, in pursuit of an ideal
result.
To
date, the other teams with their tickets to the
championships confirmed are Puerto Rico, also in
NORCECA, and Venezuela and Brazil (as the defending
champion) for South America. In Europe, Serbia,
Russia, Germany, Spain, France, Poland, Bulgaria,
and the Czech Republic knocked out Holland, with
Italy assured a spot as the host of the event that
will take place from September 23 to October 10.
Translated by Granma International
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