Cuba, albeit dropping a set to Qatar, took the first victory of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
For Cuba, there was no other option than to leave the hall in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana today with a victory in their pocket given they lost to Brazil on Day 1. It was to win or say goodbye to a World Championship 2022. Even though Qatar, the weakest rival on paper in Pool B, was on the other side of the net, the Caribbeans showed less confidence than expected, which is portrayed in 35 unforced errors, including 21 failed serves.
The first and second sets passed quietly, with a Cuban play that didn’t leave too much room for the Arabs to stage a shock. Qatar won the third set but in the fourth, Cuba again showed why they came out as favorites. Jesús Herrera scored 22 points on the winning side. Robertlandy Simón made 4 blocks and 71.43% attack (11/14). Belal Nabel Abunabot tallied 11 points on the losing side who’s at 0-2 and no points. Ibrahim Ibrahim made 4 blocks.
Brazil swept Japan to win their second Pool B match and finish at the Top-2 of the standings, securing the first slot in the Round of 16. Outside hitter Yoandy Leal (17 points) drove the South Americans to a commanding 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-16) victory after the Asian team had a good start in the opening set in which it opened a four-point advantage at 16-12. When Brazil leveled at 18-18, they never looked back. Yuki Ishikawa scored 10 points for Japan who are at 1-1 and 3 points in the ranking.
2022 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship – Preliminary Phase, Day 3:
