Cuba clinches Olympic spot with win over Canada

 

MONCTON, Canada, September 19, 2026. – Cuba is headed to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after defeating Canada Saturday at the NORCECA Olympic men’s qualification tournament.

 

Cuba won 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22) to earn the continental spot at the Games, where they will join host United States, Asian champion Japan and nine other countries.

 

After a somewhat comfortable win in the first set, Cuba led by as much as five in the second before Canada charged back to tie it 22-22. But the Cubans took three of the final four points, with Marlon Yant providing two kills including the winner. Canada continued to battle, taking the third set in front of the home crowd at the Avenir Centre in Moncton. The fourth set was another back-and-forth affair, with Canada tying it 21-21 on Stephen Maar’s kill, but Cuba came up with four of the next five points to win.

 

The Cuban players and staff flooded the court with hugs of celebration and tears of joy, then posed for a photo with a giant ticket to LA 2028.

 

Cuba had the advantage in attacks (62-57) and aces (9-3), while Canada held the edge in blocks (8-6).

 

Yant was the top scorer of the match with 25, followed by his teammate Miguel Lopez with 22, including a match-high three blocks. Alejandro Gonzalez added 14, with Gonzalez and Yant tying for the most aces with three each. Robertlandy Simon chipped in nine points.

 

Maar led the way for Canada with 22 points and Eric Loeppky had 14. Canadian libero Landon Currie was the match’s best digger with seven.

 

Jesús Cruz López, Cuba coach: “This is the best sensation in the world to have an Olympic Games. We didn’t have the last Olympics, now we have the ticket for Los Angeles.”

 

Robertlandy Simon, Cuban player: “It’s amazing because it’s been a lot of years we’ve tried for this. I’m really happy for me and for my team. Everybody knows how far we’ve come through difficult times, but we are here with a positive mentality and we did everything to make the Olympic Games. We are really happy and this is a fantastic moment right now.”

 

Dan Lewis, Canada coach: “I was really proud of the guys. Cuba played well, we played well, there were many ties and changes in this game, just that last moment we needed one more wave. We’re not sure exactly all the lessons that we’re going to get from this moment. They’re going to come and we need to reflect as individuals and as a team. We’re going to all have lessons that we learn from this. Then it’s going to have to be some big decisions. … I have big, big faith in this entire team. There are 14 guys that can play at world-class level tonight here and there’s more waiting. We just have to figure out what is the team solution to rise through this little moment. We’re right there, we have to make one more wave, one more step.”