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• 11 / 05 / 2007

Brazil had to pull all the stops out as they faced rivals Cuba in a spectacular five set win on Sunday.

Brazil edged the Cubans 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 19-25, 15-11 in an out-and-out thriller. After a four-set battle, Brazil stayed ahead from the first point of the tiebreaker while Ruiz almost singlehandedly kept Cuba's hopes alive.

But a mammoth strike by Pequeno and two superb serves from Jaqueline that the Cubans couldn't handle gave Brazil a four- point cushion. This went to five after a brilliant block by Walewska. Cuba wasn't helped by wide serves from Carcaces and Carrillo, the latter handing Brazil matchpoint.

Jaqueline finished off the match with a gentle push shot that Cuba couldn't return, sending the yellow and green-clad fans into delirium. "It's always hard when we play Cuba - stated Brazilian Head Coach Zé Roberto.

"Both teams serve very well but today we were a bit luckier and took eight points on service to Cuba's four. But they were better than us in blocking. In the tie break, we also got lucky as Cuba made serving errors, in effect giving us points for free. I think we are lucky; Cuba is one of the best teams in the world, so beating them is fantastic."

Source: Sports Features Communications