Argentina celebrate the last point of their semifinal against Cuba at the 2017 FIVB Men's U23 World Championship in Cairo.
Cairo, Egypt, August 24, 2017 - Argentina outclassed Cuba 4-1 (15-7 15-7, 11-15, 15-13, 17-15) in the second semifinal of the 2017 FIVB Men's U23 World Championship here on Thursday to set up a final against Russia on Friday evening at 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT).
Cuba will meet Brazil at 10:00 (08:00 GMT) for the bronze medal.
All matches in Cairo are played under a
new scoring system currently being tested: a best-of-seven, 15-point set format.
It is Argentina's first appearance in a final of this competition, after finishing 7th in 2013 and 6th in 2015.
For Cuba it is the second time they miss out on a final after losing to Turkey in the semifinals and eventually ranking fourth in 2015.
Brian Melgarejo of Argentina reaches high to tip the ball over the block of Cuba's Javier Concepcion and Miguel Gutierrez in the semifinals of the 2017 FIVB Men's U23 World Championship.Cuba had a chance to stay alive for a sixth set, but they blew two set points (including a counter attack at 14-15) before Argentina came from behind to sideout and then get the win on a blockout by Jan Martinez from the left followed by a spike on the antenna by Miguel Gutierrez, otherwise the game's top scorer at 20 points.
Brian Melgarejo and German Johansen with 17 points each were Argentina's best scorers as the South Americans pressured the Caribbean side with their serving.
Quick links - Volleyball:FIVB Volleyball Men's U23 World Championship 2017
FIVB Volleyball Men's U23 World Championship 2017 - ScheduleFIVB Volleyball Men's U23 World Championship 2017 - Teams
FIVB.com - VolleyballFIVB.com
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