Havana, June 21 (ACN) Cuba defeated Bulgaria 3-0 today and cut the lead of Serbia, teams that are fighting for the last place for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games distributed by the Men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
In Ljubljana, Slovenia, venue of pool five of the third week, the Cubans swept the Bulgarians with sets of 25-18, 25-20 and 25-18, in a match in which they were better in attack, 50 points for 33, the blocking (4-3), the service (3-1) and own errors (16-21).
According to the official individual statistics of the competition, the top scorer of the match was Michael Sánchez, an important piece in the success with 13 goals, all in attack.
For the Bulgarians, Venislav Antov (12/11-0-1) stood out, followed by the Caribbean Miguel Ángel López (10/9-1-0) and Roberlandy Simón (9/9-0-0), the closest to the players who finished with double figures.
With this result, Cuba momentarily approached Serbia, a team that will meet Turkey this afternoon, and that before this Friday’s game surpassed the disciples of technical director Jesús Cruz, who fell 2-3 this Wednesday and Thursday against the Serbs and Slovenes, in that order.
Cruz’s pupils lost against Serbia, 25-22, 25-21, 16-25, 21-25 and 12-15, and Slovenia, 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 29-31 and 15-8 , in that order.
With the setback against the locals, the disciples of technical director Jesús Cruz erased 0.01 hundredth of points from their accumulated score and were 10.82 away from the Balkans, according to the International Federation site www.fivb.com.
Serbia, leader of the VNL and fourth place in the world ranking, will have its next rivals on Saturday and Sunday against Poland and Slovenia, respectively, while Cuba still has Saturday’s match against the Poles, with which they will close their actions in the knockout phase.
Winning and winning, and if possible by 3-0, is the option facing the square for the Parisian multi-sport event, from July 26 to August 11, as well as the Serbians not doing well against their upcoming rivals.
The League calendar indicates that the quarterfinals will be from June 27 to 28, the semifinal, on the 29th, and the final, on the 30th, in Lodz, Poland, which will close the process for the completion of the classified teams. for Paris 2024, from July 26 to August 11.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, France, as host, Germany and Brazil, one-two in the pre-Olympic tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Japan and the United States in a similar competition held on Japanese soil, and Poland already have their places secured. and Canada, in a tournament that took place in China.
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