Cuba battles Dominican Republic for fifth place

GATINEAU, CANADA. Aug. 25, 2024: The battle for fifth place ended in Cuba’s favor on final day of the Men’s Final Six at the Slush Puppie Centre arena in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.

Despite their best efforts for a comeback, Dominican Republic couldn’t handle the powerful attack of Cuba and the match ended in four sets 3-1 (25-19, 34-36, 26-24, 25-21).

Cuba held the advantage in attack points (68-59), blocks (13-10), and Dominican Republic had one more ace than the winning side (5-4). Errors were similar (26-25) with Cuba making one more error.

Víctor Andreu Flores of Cuba led all scorers with 29 points (25 attack points, three blocks and an ace).

Adrián Figueroa Lantigua led the Dominican side with 23 points, followed by teammate Hector Alexis Cruz Cepin with 19 points.

Dominican Republic finishes sixth overall.

Cuba’s head coach Jesus Angel Cruz Lopez said in the post-match interview: "Ultimately, we finished in fifth place, which wasn't the position we expected in this tournament, but we ended with a victory. We didn't just win one game; we won two. It wasn't a good tournament for this group of athletes, but this serves as an analysis for future competitions for the athletes and for their individual preparation."