Cuba shocked FIVB World Ranking leaders Poland at VNL

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 18 (ACN) Cuban men's national team defeated favorite and host Poland 3-1 on the second day of the third week of preliminary matches at the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), which will be held until Sunday in Gdansk, where they will face France today.

After defeating Bulgaria 3-2, Cubans stunned the world-leading Poles with scores of 22-25, 25-19, 25-21, and 26-24, despite conceding 36 points due to their own errors compared to 25 by their opponents.

According to the International Federation's website www.fivb.com, Jesus Cruz's players were better on attacks, 55 points to 43, blocking (10-6), and serving (8-4).

Marlon Yant stood out individually in the victory, leading the match with 18 points: 15 on spikes, one on blocks, and two on aces.

Jose Masso (15/12-3-0), Captain Miguel Angel Lopez (12/11-0-1), and Javier Concepcion (10/6-3-1) also standing out for Cuba, while the standouts for the home team were Kewin Saak (11/11-0-0) and Tomasz Formal (10/7-1-2).

With this result, Cuba remains in seventh place in the standings with six wins and four losses, while Poland remains fourth with seven wins.

Friday, Cuba will face the French team, another favorite and in fifth place with six points.They will rest on Saturday, and on Sunday they will face China, in sixteenth place with two wins, while Bulgaria is thirteenth with four.

The Caribbean team's most immediate objective is to place among the top eight of the VNL, surpassing their ninth-place finish in the previous edition.
Without forgetting their main goal of the year: the World Championship in the Philippines next September.