Cuba once again yielded to Canada (1-3) in men's volleyball in their debut in the second week of the 2024 Nations League, but still holds onto the dream of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the city of Ottawa, home to the actions of Group 4, the local team knelt the Caribbean team with scores of 25-21, 25-27, 25-20, and 28-26, which dealt a severe blow to the aspirations of those led by coach Jesús Cruz.
Although it maintained the ninth position in the world ranking, the failure resulted in a loss of 8.98 points, and now the island shows 243.39 points in its pursuit to stay ahead of Serbia (238.51), its main rival in the quest to secure one of the spots for Paris 2024.
In the match in question, the Cubans stood out with performances from the backups Marlon Yant (19 points) and Miguel Ángel López (18), the middle blocker Javier Concepción (11), and the opposite hitter Michael Sánchez (11). Undoubtedly, the absence of the star player Robertlandy Simón, who was affected by back discomfort, weighed heavily.
The winners, meanwhile, applauded the performances of Eric Loeppky (22) and Stephen Maar (20), while Arthur Szwarc and Fynn McCarthy scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
This meant the fifth consecutive setback against the northerners, and we will have to show a different side against the Netherlands (Thursday), Italy (Friday), and France (Saturday) to continue on the path towards the five-ring event.
So far, Brazil, Germany, France -host and current champion-, Japan, United States, Poland, and Canada have secured spots for the upcoming tournament scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11 in the French capital.
Men's volleyball turns out to be the "last bullet" of sports in the largest of the Antilles to have a team discipline in the grand universal event. However, it is worth clarifying that the duo of Noslen Díaz and Jorge Luis Alayo is quietly awaiting the officialization of their beach mode tickets.
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