Brazil comes back to defeat Cuba at U23

CAIRO, Egypt, August 21, 2017 - Brazil staged a thrilling comeback from two sets down at 1-3 to beat Cuba 4-3 (13-15, 15-13, 11-15, 11-15, 15-11, 15-8, 15-12) here Monday, remain unbeaten in four matches, and secure a ticket to the semifinals of the 2017 FIVB Men's U23 World Championship.

Brazil went 4-0, claiming not just their ticket to the semifinals, but also securing first place in Pool A, which means they avoid the first-ranked team of Pool B. Cuba dropped to 2-2 and remain very much in contention for the second qualifying spot from Pool A.

This was the third seven-setter of the competition, after Egypt beat Japan and China edged Turkey on the opening day.

Matheus Bispo dos Santos scored 19 points for Brazil, but Cuba's Miguel Lopez with 21 was top scorer of the game.

Poland cruised past Mexico in straight sets (15-8, 15-8, 15-10, 15-10) to win their second match in Pool A.

Poland improved their win- loss ratio to 2/1 in 3 matches, while Mexico dropped 0-3. Poland dominated the match in areas of serving and blocking that made the game easier for the winners. Poland had 11-4 dominance in blocking and 7-0 in Ace service score. 

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