Cuba secures spot in U23 semifinals

CAIRO, Egypt, August 23, 2017- Cuba booked the second semifinal ticket of Pool A at Men's U23 World championship after they upset Mexico 4-1 (15-7, 15-9, 15-13, 15-11) at Cairo Stadium Complex in Egypt on Wednesday. 

Cuba finished Pool matches with a win- loss ratio of 3-2 at the second position after Brazil who early secured their place at the top of the pool, while Mexico stayed winless at the end of the preliminary round. 

Miguel Castro was Cuba’s top scorer with 16 points, while Mexico’s Ridl Garay and Bruno Cruz finished with 16 and 10 points, respectively.

The winners held advantages of 11-4 in blocks and 6-2 in aces while being outscored 40-36 in spikes.

Cuba had the upper hand at the first and second sets to win widely both sets 15-7 and 15-9, before Mexico played a great third set as they ended winners in the longest set since the application of the new scoring rules 26-24. 

Again, the Cuban team made a pressure through the service and blockers to win the fourth and fifth sets and the match 4-1. 

All matches in Cairo are played under a new scoring system currently being tested: a best-of-seven, 15-point set format.