Oscar Sánchez Serra

THE first two weekends of the 20th edition of the Volleyball World League have ended. That is to say, each team has played four matches and just one of the 16 of them competing in this event has remained undefeated. Brazil stands at 4-0, and not only that: it holds the highest ratio of points in the competition, with 1.283 and has won the most sets, with 12, and lost the fewest, with three.

There’s no need to go looking for anything out of the ordinary — it’s simply fact. In the last 10 years, Brazilian volleyball has been devilishly creative and at the same time precise, with some of the best field defense in the world, while at the net, its varied offense is highly effective. It is a fact that its rivals in Group D are not at the level of quality to be able to threaten its trajectory; however, the blue-and-green team has not made it to the top by distinguishing between large or small adversaries — it plays against all equally.

Continuing on to the first places in each group and in passing, following the paths of the best Latin American volleyball teams in the League, we would then have to talk about the Cuban team, which has given a meritorious and outstanding performance, with a team of young players who have left more than one expert and quite a few fans at home speechless.

Cuba is leading Group C in the tournament, with nine points, the same as Russia, relegated to second place by point ratio (1.086 for 1.056). In contrast to the Brazilians, the Cubans have had to play against two high-level teams: Bulgaria on the first weekend and Russia on the second.

It was precisely against the latter, winner of the Olympic bronze and runner-up world champion, that their performance was convincing. They played two exciting and good games, both with scoreboards of 3-2, the first won by Cuba and the second by the visitors.

A few statistics more than reveal the feat that Cuba has been executing in this edition of the Volleyball World League. Against the powerhouse Russia in the last edition, the Cubans were only able to win three sets in four matches, and now in two, they already have five partial victories. Last year, the Russians won four matches, but they won’t be able to do so this time. Going a little farther back, to 2007, the Russian giants beat Cuba three times: 3-2 and two 3-0 games, while they lost 3-1. That is, the Cubans won the same number of sets in four matches that they have won in two games against this select opponent.

One expression of the attributes of our players, coached by Orlando Samuels, is their presence against the most outstanding players of the tournament. Joandry Leal, Wilfredo León and Rolando Cepeda are in second, fourth and 20th places on the list of top scorers; Leal and León are also among the 20 most outstanding spikers, the first in 5th place and the second in 18th. León himself is the top server in the World League despite the fact that he is only 15 years old, and Leal is the only one from his team who is on a list of 20 high-performance blockers, in 11th place.

Leal and León are also among the top receivers, in 9th and 11th places, respectively, while setter Yoandri Díaz continues to be No. 1, and libero Keibel Gutiérrez remains in 12th place.

In Group A in the tourney, Holland has imposed respect and to date is leading the group, followed by Olympic champion the United States, while one of the great boosters of these competitions, Italy, is lagging behind in third place, with an identical adverse balance of 1-3 as China. In Group B, everybody has six points and the advantage in point ratio is very narrow, which is why a very close second half of the competition is expected as teams battle for the top spot.

On Sunday, June 28, the World League will be halfway through, and things will be clearer, above all in Groups B and C. In the latter, Cuba could take off if the Bulgarians shake off their uncertain start and play the Russians at their best, and if Cuba shows why it is a major favorite against Japan, whose team it has been able to beat twice.