Cuba celebrate their win over Brazil in the bronze medal match of the 2017 FIVB Men's U23 World Championship in Cairo.
Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2017 - Cuba won the bronze medal at the 2017 FIVB Men's U23 World Championship here on Friday, outclassing Brazil 4-1 (18-16, 15-13, 15-13, 20-22, 15-11) as the last day of the competition got underway.
Cuba could had done it the easy way with a straight sweep, had they taken advantage of a 14-12 lead (back from 10-12 down) in the fourth and a total of four match points.
Brazil had also missed a chance to take a 1-0 lead when they blew a set point at 16-15 in the first, before Cuba took control to take it on their own third.
All matches in Cairo are played under a
new scoring system currently being tested: a best-of-seven, 15-point set format.
Cuba's Miguel Gutierrez gets the ball past the block of Brazil's Douglas Souza and Romulo Silva in the bronze medal match of the 2017 FIVB Men's U23 World Championship in Cairo.But the South Americans, winners of the inaugural edition of the U23 Worlds in 2013, were clearly disappointed and seem to lack motivation after their semifinal defeat in seven sets to Russia on Thursday. Brazil had been undefeated all through pool play, including a 4-3 win over Cuba earlier in the week.
It was Cuba's first medal in the short history of the competition - an improvement on their fourth-place finish of 2015 in Dubai.
Cuba dominated the blocking and served four aces to Brazil's one, with Miguel Gutierres scoring 19 points and Miguel Lopez adding another 16. Brazil's Douglas Souza was top scorer of the game with 22 points.
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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