Cuba defeats China by 3-2: 2011 FIVB Men’s World Cup - Volleyball
The Cuban men’s national volleyball team played against the Chinese squad today, December 2, in Tokyo, Japan, at the 2011 FIVB Men’s World Cup. The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium hosted the close encounter as the Cubans won 3-2..
The first set of the match saw both the teams play neck to neck with each other. However, as the set reached its final stages, the Cubans were able to put on a burst of speed and bag themselves a win. The loss of the opening set of the game did not set too
well with the Chinese and they were able to step up their performance and give the Cubans quite a challenge that enabled China to equalise the match with a set win. With the two sides on level ground, the third set became quite competitive with no one sure
where the tables would turn until the end. However, it was the Chinese squad that proved to be the better side as they secured themselves another win.
The loss of two consecutive sets sent a much needed wake up call to the Cubans that triggered them into coming out strong in the fourth set and bag a win. After a tough fifth set, the Cubans were able to seal the deal on the match at the following final
set scores: 25-21, 18-25, 26-28, 25-20 and 15-13.
The coach of the Cuban team, Orlando Samuells Blackwood, shared his views after his team had won the match in the following manner: “It’s true we won, but I’m not satisfied with the quality of the match. I’m always happy to win, but today we lacked aggression
and we didn’t have many successful blocks. We lacked the passion that we need to do our best. I do feel we have to play better than today, especially in terms of defence and blocking. We have to be stronger.”
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