Cuba defeats Serbia by 3-1 in a FIVB Men's World Cup match - Volleyball news
The Cubans were recently able to secure a win over the Serbians on November 25 in the second round of the 2011 FIVB Men's World Cup match. It took the Cuban squad a total of four sets to assert their dominance in the match that was being played at Osaka
Central Gym in the Japanese city of Osaka. The championship is being hosted in Japan, where the FIVB Women’s World Cup also took place recently.
The first set of the match was lost by the Cubans as they were trying to get into form. As a result, the Serbians were able to secure the opening set by quite a margin. However, the Cubans were able to rally themselves together for the second set and give
a good challenge to the Serbians that ended in the Cubans equalising the match. After the second set win, the Cubans came out strong in the third set too and earned themselves another victory.
The momentum generated by winning the last two sets enabled the Cubans to take an early lead in the fourth set and it stuck with them till the very end of the frame. Therefore, the Cubans were able to win the match at the following final set scores: 17-25,
25-21, 25-22 and 25-17.
The coach of the Cuban team, Orlando Samuells, expressed his jubilation upon winning the match in the following words: “We know well that the condition of the Serbia team is not good now. But they are one of the best teams in the world. We were strong in
all aspects today - serving, blocking, attacking.”
On the other hand, the coach of the losing side, Igor Kolakovic, shared his views in the following manner: “After the good start, we stopped our game. We didn't have the energy, power and character for the fight and we lost easily.”
The player that was able to score the most points for the Cuban squad was Fernando Hernandez with a total of 21 points. Hernandez was also helped by his team mate Wilfredo Leon, who made his presence felt by putting up 17 points of his own.
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