The Cuban national team achieved a prestigious victory over Brazil on the last day of the FIPAV Cup Men Elite international tournament in Messina (Italy).
The Cubans made a comeback and defeated the team led by Bernardo Rezende with a score of 3:1 (19:25, 25:21, 25:23, 25:18).
Brazil started stronger and took the first set 25:19, but then Cuba changed the course of the match. Jesus Cruz Lopez's team equalized after 25:21, won the crucial third set 25:23, and in the fourth, they already had a significant advantage – 25:18.
The top scorer for the winners was Jesus Herrera Lopez with 16 points, and Marlon Yant added 15. Robertlandy Simon, Willson, and Javier Concepcion Gonzalez finished with 10 points each.
For Brazil, Bryan Bent performed best, scoring 20 points, including 18 from attack with 67% efficiency and 2 aces. Ricardo Lucarelli added 14 points, and Judson Nunes – 8.
One of the key elements for Cuba's success was blocking. The Cubans recorded 10 block points against 6 for Brazil. The two teams had similar attack statistics – 54% positive attack for Cuba against 53% for Brazil, as well as in reception – 58% and 57% respectively.
Cuba achieved success despite a total of 25 service errors, recording 3 aces. The Brazilians made 17 service errors and scored 5 aces.
The defeat is the second in a row for Brazil in Messina. Before that, the "seleção" lost to the world and Olympic champion Italy with a score of 1:3 (25:21, 20:25, 18:25, 20:25).
Now, Bernardo Rezende's selection faces the final part of their preparation before the South American Championship in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilians will head to Paris, where they will play two friendly matches against France, after which they will return to South America for the continental championship.
Thus, the loss to Cuba comes in the final stage of Brazil's preparation for the South American Championship, where Bernardo Rezende's team will play in front of their home crowd in Rio de Janeiro. federvolley.it

photo: federvolley.it