Against all odds and after losing in three consecutive games, the men’s team of volleyball of Cuba beat the Olympic champion, France, this Saturday in the Nations League (VNL) 2024. The victory, achieved in five sets, put the island team back in the dispute for the ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Cubans dominated the first set with apparent easeas can be deduced from the score 25-18, cited by the official portal Cubadebate. However, the Gauls tipped the balance in their favor in the second and third sets with scores of 20-25 and 23-25, demonstrating why they are the current Olympic champions. Those from the Island came back in the fourth (25-22), so the table was set for a tie break, which concluded with a 15-10 advantage in favor of Cuba.
The Island team was superior in block (13-7) and took more advantage of the rival team’s errors, which made 29 to 22 of the Cubans.
Just like against the Netherlands — which this Thursday gave Cuba a defeat that took it out of the Olympic qualification zone — The team’s top scorer was Marlon Yant, this time with 23 points, divided into 19 attacks, three walls and one serve. He was supported by the best volleyball player in the world in 2023, Miguel Ángel López, with 21 points (16-2-3) and captain Javier Octavio Concepción, who scored 14 points (13-1-0). Veteran Robertlandy Simón scored nine goals, (3-5-1).
For the French team, which is assured of its presence under the five rings as the host country, Théo Faure stood out with 23 points (20-0-3) and Timothée Carle with 21 points (16-2-3).
With this success, after losing consecutively to Canada, the Netherlands and Italy, Cuba adds 9.55 points and returns to the fighting zone. He now accumulates 250.64 points in the ranking, compared to 245.34 for the Serbians, his closest rivals in the ranking.
Now, Cubans must sit and wait for what the Balkans do, who have the match against Argentina left. Both their fans and those of the Island will be attentive to the result, who once again have hope in the return of their team to the Olympics.
The Cuban men’s volleyball team competed under the five rings for the last once in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 edition, when it ranked 11th.
This second week of the VNL, played in Ottawa, Canada, leaves the Cubans with a single victory against three setbacks, very different from the debut, played in Rio de Janeiro, where they defeated the locals, Germany and Iran. They only lost to Japan.
In the third week, which will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, they will face the host team, Bulgaria, Serbia and Poland.
