Havana, September 13 (RHC) – Showing its worst side, Cuba fell 1-3 to Portugal today in the opening round of the Men’s Volleyball World Championship, which is being held in Manila and will run until the 28th of this month.
The Cubans started with a 25-20 victory in the first set, but were unable to maintain their lead for the rest of the match and lost the remaining three sets by scores of 22-25, 19-25, and 19-25.
Auxiliary Marlon Yant again led the Cuban offense with 19 points, including 15 on attacks, two on blocks, and two from the service line, followed by José Massó (12 points) and captain Miguel Ángel López (11 points).
For the winners, auxiliary hitter Nuno Marques stood out with 19 points, followed by middle blocker Filip Cveticanin and opposite blocker José Pinto, who each contributed 14 points.
As part of Group D, Cuba will face Colombia tomorrow, and Portugal will face the United States on Monday. In other results, Türkiye swept Japan 3-0 in Group G, Bulgaria defeated Germany by the same score in Group E, and the Netherlands defeated Qatar 3-1 in Group B.
The Philippines tournament featured 32 teams divided into eight groups, with Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Colombia, and the United States representing the Americas.
