The elimination phase ended below the teams expectations with two defeats to the muscular teams from Serbia and Montenegro, and Italy. The Cuban women make it to second phase wounded, but with a chance to win the tournament that will be fought between eight teams in Nagoya, Japan and another eight competing in Osaka.

NO LACK OF PREPARATION...BUT LITTLE CONCENTRATION

The weak display of the Cuban team that hung on to make it into the second round with a 3-2 victory against Peru, confirmed what was seen the day before in the game against Italy - good physical preparation, but little concentration.

The team went from an easy 25-16 second set victory, won with effective blocking, to a disappointing 17-25 loss in the third set, without a single block. Then, flirting with elimination, they slammed the South Americans 25-16 and won the tie breaker 15-10, almost without any mistakes, having regained their consciousness.

The lack of rhythm and variety characterizes the team which has not come up with a regular line up. The explosive serving that characterizes the Cuban side, especially those from Nancy Carrillo and Yanelis Santos, were all but absent and Santos was frequently replaced by Liana Mesa.

The Cuban team will have to find a way to muster a better offensive if it is to have any success as its defence is sorely lacking, even with the recent brilliant blocking by centre court Yenisey Gonzalez (ranked 20 among players) who surpassed Nancy Carrillo (ranked 37) in the overall standings. The team must also find a way to hold on to a lead; over the first round they often pulled far ahead of their opponents only to lose concentration and see their advantage fade.

RESULTS OF THE FIFTH DAY

Group A, Tokio: China Taipei 3, Costa Rica 0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-12); South Korea 3, Kenya 0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-12); Japan 3, Poland 1 (25-22, 30-28, 26-28, 25-18). Group B, Sapporo: Germany 3, China 1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-23); Azerbaidzhan 3, Mexico 0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-16); Russia 3, Dominican R. 1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-18, 25-19). Group C, Kobe: Brazil 3, Cameroon 0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-8); US 3, Puerto Rico 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-15); Netherlands 3, Kazakhstan 2 (25-18, 27-29, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13). Group D, Nagoya: Serbia and Montenegro 3, Turkey 0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-15); Cuba 3, Peru 2 (22-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-16, 15-10); Italy 3, Egypt 0 (25-17, 25-7, 25-10).