Cuba recorded their first victory in this year's edition of the Volleyball Nations League, after convincingly defeating Belgium 3:0 (25:23, 25:19, 25:20) in the first match of the third week in Osaka.
The success allowed the Cubans to move away from last place. They are now 17th in the temporary standings with 1 win and 5 points, having overtaken the host of the final tournament, China, which also has 1 win and 4 points, but with a game in hand and will open their participation in Chicago against the USA tomorrow.
The victory is even more valuable as Cuba was without one of their key middle blockers, Javier Concepcion. He suffered a severe double fracture of his left lower leg (tibia and fibula) upon landing after an attack during the match against Iran in the second week of the tournament in Orleans. The national team player underwent surgery a day later and will be out of play for an extended period.
Belgium, which is also playing with a rejuvenated squad and without several key players, only offered resistance in the first set. The "Red Dragons" recovered from a significant deficit to 21:21, but Cuba remained calm in the decisive rallies. After that, coach Jesus Angel Cruz Lopez's boys dominated the second and third sets, capitalizing on their significantly better serve and block play.
Lopez was the top scorer for the winners with 15 points, while Yant added 14. For Belgium, Reggers scored 17 points, and Plaskie finished with 11.
The statistics clearly show Cuba's superiority. The islanders finished with 43 successful attacks against 34 for Belgium, recorded an impressive 11 blocks against only 3 for their opponent, and scored 8 aces against 4. The Belgians only compensated with more points coming from opponent errors (21:13), but this was not enough. In terms of digs in defense, Belgium had a minimal advantage (34:32). The victory also brought Cuba 11.26 points for the world ranking, allowing the team to overtake Belgium and climb to 19th place.