Lat Am and Europe to Play FIVB Finals
Latin America and Europe will face off in the semi-finals of the 21st FIVB World League to take place at the Orfeo Superdome today.
Both regions will be represented with two teams: Cuba will play Brazil and Russia will confront Serbia. The winners will move on to contest the title for their continent.
Cuba got its ticket to the finals yesterday afternoon with a convincing victory over eight-time winner of the League, Italy.
Cuban coach Orlando Samuels said at a press conference that his team played well from the beginning, with aggressiveness and coordination. He said they were lucky to win the second set against Italy, as both teams fought furiously, but the Italians committed some errors that allowed the Cuban team to win.
"I think that we need to work harder on the concentration of our boys, because we sometimes take a convincing lead and then lose it with relative ease, so that we need to be more consistent in the coming matches, which will be more demanding", he added.
The Cubans were led by Wilfredo Leon, followed by Yoandry Leal with 12 points, Fernando Hernandez (11) and captain Robertlandy Simon (10). Among the Italians the most outstanding players were Alessandro Fei and Matej Cernic, both with 12 points.
Although the day before the Caribbean team was largely uncoordinated, they improved significantly the following day to defeat their opponent in three straight sets: 25-17, 35-33 and 25-22.
The Cubans need to play better against Brazil, which dominated its group by winning undefeated 2-0, if they want to get a shot at the title, which they have not done since 1998.
For their part, Serbia taught their hosts a lesson by defeating them in three straight sets 25-19, 25-18 and 28-26 in just an hour and 14 minutes.
Argentina ended fifth in the previous World League behind Brazil, Serbia, Russia and Cuba, in that order.
Now, despite having home court advantage, the Argentine team did not play as its fans expected, and they will have to settle for sixth place, with 14 defeats in a row without any victory.
The Serbs will meet the Russians, leader in group F, who ended the quarter finals with two victories without defeats.
Both regions will be represented with two teams: Cuba will play Brazil and Russia will confront Serbia. The winners will move on to contest the title for their continent.
Cuba got its ticket to the finals yesterday afternoon with a convincing victory over eight-time winner of the League, Italy.
Cuban coach Orlando Samuels said at a press conference that his team played well from the beginning, with aggressiveness and coordination. He said they were lucky to win the second set against Italy, as both teams fought furiously, but the Italians committed some errors that allowed the Cuban team to win.
"I think that we need to work harder on the concentration of our boys, because we sometimes take a convincing lead and then lose it with relative ease, so that we need to be more consistent in the coming matches, which will be more demanding", he added.
The Cubans were led by Wilfredo Leon, followed by Yoandry Leal with 12 points, Fernando Hernandez (11) and captain Robertlandy Simon (10). Among the Italians the most outstanding players were Alessandro Fei and Matej Cernic, both with 12 points.
Although the day before the Caribbean team was largely uncoordinated, they improved significantly the following day to defeat their opponent in three straight sets: 25-17, 35-33 and 25-22.
The Cubans need to play better against Brazil, which dominated its group by winning undefeated 2-0, if they want to get a shot at the title, which they have not done since 1998.
For their part, Serbia taught their hosts a lesson by defeating them in three straight sets 25-19, 25-18 and 28-26 in just an hour and 14 minutes.
Argentina ended fifth in the previous World League behind Brazil, Serbia, Russia and Cuba, in that order.
Now, despite having home court advantage, the Argentine team did not play as its fans expected, and they will have to settle for sixth place, with 14 defeats in a row without any victory.
The Serbs will meet the Russians, leader in group F, who ended the quarter finals with two victories without defeats.
Source:
Prensa Latina
Date:
24/07/2010