Defending Champion Brazil defeats Cuba in five-set thriller – Match report
Defending Champion Brazil confirmed its ambition for victory by giving out a stellar performance in the Final Round of 2011 FIVB World League. Team Brazil opened the Final Round by defeating Cuba on Wednesday, July 6. The match was played in Ergo Arena,
Gdansk, Poland. The battle for supremacy between Brazil and Cuba continued for about two hours. Finally, Brazil hit the mark and held off Cuban team for 3-2 (18-25, 21-25, 25-16, 30-28, and 15-12) victory. Around 3’900 spectators had come to watch the match.
Starting Line-up of Cuba
Wilfredo Leon (Captain) Osmany Camejo Henry Bell Isbel Mesa Yoandri Diaz Fernando Hernandez Keibir Gutierrez (libero) Brazil’s starting line-up Vissotto Murilo Rodrigao Lucas Marlon Dante Sergio (libero)
First Set
The two teams entered the court. Cuban players were clad in red uniforms, while Brazilians were in their familiar yellow outfits. Cuban side opened the match with strong serve by Hernandez Ramos Fernando. He took a bigger run-up and hit the ball with full
might. They scored the early two points of the match, while Brazil was yet to be on board. Cuban Henry Bell came from a close angel and tried to poke the ball in Brazilian half but it was blocked right on the net. As a result, Brazil earned the first point
of the match. Raged-up Cuba once again hit the ball hard but solid block by Dante and Lucas didn’t allow them achieve the desired results. Meanwhile, the scoreboard showed 2-2. As the game progressed, players of both sides showcased their skills on the court.
Cuba picked up lead at the first technical timeout and added quick points to stretch the gap of points. The opening set lasted for 24 minutes and finally ended in Cuba’s favour. Brazil trailed behind and received 7-point defeat.
Second Set
Wilfredo led Cuban team in the second set. Henry and Fernando did a great job at serving the ball with great precision and accuracy. Brazil’s Lucas hit from different angles and directed the ball in rare gaps. The heavy strike of volleys helped Brazil to
lead the scoring chart in early half of the second set. Nonetheless, Cuban team bounced back in the game. Cuba libero Keibir turned many heads around with great reception of fast-moving shots. On contrary, Brazilian players committed too many mistakes. Reception
errors and illegal hits led them to the loss of another set. Cuba extended its lead to 2-0 by polling 25-21.
Third Set
The loss of two straight sets totally shook-up defending champions. The Head Coach Bernardo Rezende seemed quite unhappy with the performance of his team. He had a word with the players at the end of second set and urged them to keep focused on the ball.
Brazilians kicked off third set with commanding serves. Rodrigo and Lucas came strong of Cubans and created trouble for them with commanding serves. In the meantime, Endres Murilo played an instrumental part in getting out of blues. Cuba trailed behind and
couldn’t penetrate the power of strong jump-serves and powerful shots. Eventually, Brazil secured third set of the match.
Fourth Set
The next set also came successful for Brazil as they managed to hit the equalizer. Lucas, Rodrigo and Dante were the real heroes in fourth set. They staged good fight and claimed fourth set of the match.
Fifth Set
The game entered 15-point golden set, which was supposed to decide on the winner of the match. Suspense and uncertainty was high stake in fifth set but the final word was given out in Brazil’s favour. Brazil captured the final set and announced match victory.
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