Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, July 16 – The Cuban men's volleyball team will face Bulgaria today in the first day of the third and final week of the Nations League preliminaries, which will be held until this Sunday in the Polish port city of Gdansk.
According to the International Federation's website www.fivb.com, the disciples of Jesus Cross will enter into action this Wednesday against the Bulgarians, then meet with the Polish teams on Thursday and France on Friday, rest on Saturday and close on Sunday with China as a rival.
The Cubans arrived in Gdansk this Monday after losing twice 3-1 to the host French team in two preparation matches held behind closed doors at the Futuroscope Arena Chansseneuil-du-Poitou. Cruz's players polished the details of the difficulties they had exhibited in the previous two weeks of the VNL, a competition in which they hope to place among the top eight and surpass the ninth place achieved in the previous edition.
Important for the current phase is the presence of Cuban Roberlandy Simón, considered by many experts to be among the best middle blockers in the world, who joined the team for the two preparation matches in France.
Cuba also keeps in mind its main goal for the upcoming World Championship in September in the Philippines.
The largest of the Antilles is in ninth place in the Nations League standings with four wins, while France, the 2024 Paris Olympic champion, is in fifth with five wins.
The Cubans concluded the first week, in Rio de Janeiro, with a 3-2 victory over the host nation, Brazil, and losses to Slovenia (1-3), Ukraine (2-3), and the United States (1-3). This negative record improved in the second week in Belgrade, where they consecutively led 3-1 against Serbia, Germany, and the Netherlands, but lost 2-3 in the closing match against Argentina.
The Caribbean team will have a tough match, especially given the French and Polish teams, who are second in the standings with six wins, while the Bulgarians and Chinese are in 11th and 15th place with four and two wins, respectively. (Source: ACN)
