Cuban Team: Among the Six Best for the Crown of the League
- Submitted by: admin
- Sports
- 07 / 14 / 2010
The preliminary result of the Cuban volleyball team in the 21 World League could not be better: straight classification for the final for the second year in a row for the thirteenth time in the history of these competitions.
The group of Orlando Samuels secured their pass after sweeping in their international tour - second phase of the intercontinental round - against Germany, Poland, and Argentina, while they finished second with the best total of points accumulated of all finalists: eleven victories and a single defeat, worth 29 points, with identical balance for Brazil, but just one more point.
If we are to speak of key figures in this performance, the name of the captain Roberlandy Simon springs forth, with the fourth position in blocks and fifth in the aces, as well as sixteenth among the top scorers, something very rare for a central attacker like him.
Other outstanding players in this classifying phase were the setter Raydel Hierrezuelo, ninth in the statistics, but with many more combinations and overall performance than in previous years; while the libero Keibel Gutierrez finished among the thirteen first in defense, in spite of his intermittences in the position a lesion that sent him to the bench for a couple of weeks.
Being once again among the sixth who will vie for the gold medal in this 2010 makes us think – regarding the amount of mistakes they still make in a set and game - in the jump of quality experienced by a group that last year already showed that they could return to the world elite of volleyball and finished fourth, although with real ssibilities of much more.
In the new groups for this final round (July 21-25), Cuba appears in the most complicated, next to Italy and Russia, first of Pool B and C, respectively, while Brazil, Serbia, and the Argentinean hosts integrate the other Pool. From each group will come the first two to dispute the crossed semifinal and from there the winners to the final match.
The rivalry and quality in World Leagues of volleyball have been so many that only six countries have taken at least one crown home: Brazil and Italy with eight each, and one for Russia, United States, Holland, and Cuba. Will this be the year of Brazilians again? Will Italians return to the throne after a decade without climbing to the top of the podium? Will Cubans be able to fight for the gold?
In the opinion of the main coach, Orlando Samuels, for Cuba the final history responds to fight for a medal, something we have not enjoyed since 2005 and that a few years ago it slipped through our hands. Let’s trust.
The group of Orlando Samuels secured their pass after sweeping in their international tour - second phase of the intercontinental round - against Germany, Poland, and Argentina, while they finished second with the best total of points accumulated of all finalists: eleven victories and a single defeat, worth 29 points, with identical balance for Brazil, but just one more point.
If we are to speak of key figures in this performance, the name of the captain Roberlandy Simon springs forth, with the fourth position in blocks and fifth in the aces, as well as sixteenth among the top scorers, something very rare for a central attacker like him.
Other outstanding players in this classifying phase were the setter Raydel Hierrezuelo, ninth in the statistics, but with many more combinations and overall performance than in previous years; while the libero Keibel Gutierrez finished among the thirteen first in defense, in spite of his intermittences in the position a lesion that sent him to the bench for a couple of weeks.
Being once again among the sixth who will vie for the gold medal in this 2010 makes us think – regarding the amount of mistakes they still make in a set and game - in the jump of quality experienced by a group that last year already showed that they could return to the world elite of volleyball and finished fourth, although with real ssibilities of much more.
In the new groups for this final round (July 21-25), Cuba appears in the most complicated, next to Italy and Russia, first of Pool B and C, respectively, while Brazil, Serbia, and the Argentinean hosts integrate the other Pool. From each group will come the first two to dispute the crossed semifinal and from there the winners to the final match.
The rivalry and quality in World Leagues of volleyball have been so many that only six countries have taken at least one crown home: Brazil and Italy with eight each, and one for Russia, United States, Holland, and Cuba. Will this be the year of Brazilians again? Will Italians return to the throne after a decade without climbing to the top of the podium? Will Cubans be able to fight for the gold?
In the opinion of the main coach, Orlando Samuels, for Cuba the final history responds to fight for a medal, something we have not enjoyed since 2005 and that a few years ago it slipped through our hands. Let’s trust.
By: Joel Garcia
Cubasi Translation Staff
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