• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 08 / 22 / 2011

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Cuba and Argentina competed against each other in one of the last matches of the preliminary round of the FIVB World Grand Prix on the 21st of August. The match between the two sides took place in Bangkok, Thailand. What followed was a clean sweep of the Argentineans by the Cubans with the following final set scores: 26-24, 25-23 and 25-18.

Even though Argentina lost the match, they did not go down without putting up a good fight. The first set of the match remained tight all through. Inspite of the Argentinean efforts, the Cubans were able to secure the opening set of the game.

The second set followed the same tune as its predecessor and saw both the teams battle hard for a win. However, the set rested in the hands of the Cubans at the end. The loss of the first two sets of the game decreased the morale of the Argentineans and they were not seen performing up to the mark. As a result, Cuba won the third set by a comfortable margin.  

The coach of the Cuban team, Juan Gala Rodriguez, shared his feelings at the end of the match in these words: “It will always turn out to be a tough match whenever we played Argentina. Argentina used exceptional tactics. Their management in the team is very impressive. We lost to Argentina last week and this win was a sweet revenge for the loss.”

On the other hand, the Argentinean coach, Horacio Bastit, expressed himself in the press conference after the match in this way: “Congratulations on Cuba’s win. We played each other before in Poland last week and both sides then studied their games from tapes for this rematch. Cuba is much stronger than us. Their attacks are very heavy. We were well-prepared, but still no enough to beat them this time.”

The first set of the match remained competitive all through with the lead shifting between the two sides. By the time the set reached its final stages, Cuba was leading at 19-17. With a thrilling performances from both sides, the opening set was finally bagged by Cuba at 26-24.

The second set of the game was tied at 16-16 and both the sides battled on to gain control. As the set drew to its close, the Cubans were able to give a final push that enabled them to get hold of the second set at 25-23. The third set started off in Cuba’s favour as they remained in control from the start until the end at 25-18.

With their recent win, Cuba has been able to tally two victories to their record in the current tournament.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Cuba-defeats-Argentina-by-3-0-in-a-FIVB-World-Gr...