Havana, Aug 21 (RHC) – The Cuban team was unable to defeat India today in their debut in Group B of the Men’s Under-17 Volleyball World Championship, held in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Although the winners faced greater resistance from the Cubans in the last two sets, they ultimately secured a 3-0 victory (25-18, 26-24, 25-22).
Lian Sem Estrada’s students achieved a significant advantage in attack (42-39) and blocking (8-7), but committed more than twice as many errors (29-14) as their opponents, who scored the only point of the match on service.
“The boys looked better after the second set, much less nervous, and were able to play more freely. We reached a 20-point lead, but we couldn’t close out the sets,” commented the head coach.
“This reaction is due to a lack of competitive play, as I must remind you that this team went ten months without competing, either as a team or individually, at any level,” he noted.
Captain and outside hitter Reinaldo Márquez stood out, leading all scorers with 16 points (15 attacks and one block), followed by fellow outside hitter VÃctor Contreras (13), as well as middle blocker Erislandy RodrÃguez and opposite hitter Dailan La O, who each added eight points.
For India, Ankit Dura (14) and Apatrim Bhadauriya (12) scored in double figures.
Group B is now led by India and Italy, both with a 1-0 record, ahead of Romania and Cuba (0-1).
The Caribbean team, which has a bye tomorrow, is scheduled to play Romania on Saturday and Italy, the defending champions, on Sunday in this preliminary round.
