Cuba wants to re-write history in Poland

Katowice, Poland.- After conquering the Men’s Pan American Cup in Baja California, Mexico, the Cuban national team has taken a new road at the FIVB Men’s World Championship that already began in Poland.

The team coached by Rodolfo Sanchez, who four years ago won a gold medal in the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, will match Finland on Monday to start its competition in Pool B.

The Cuban squad will also match Germany (Day 3), South Korea (5), Tunisia (6) and Brazil (7). The first four teams of Pool will qualify to the next round.

The rest of the rivals for the Cuban team are Opposites Rolando Cepeda (Sancti Spiritus) and Lican Osoria (Santiago de Cuba). Also Outside hitters Javier Jimenez (Matanzas), Osmany Uriarte (Sancti Spiritus), Abrahan Alfonso (Havana) and Inovel Romero (Ciego de Avila) are part of the roster.

As Middle Blockers Isbel Mesa (Matanzas) and David Fiel (Havana) as well as Felix Chapman (Mayabeque) were called up by coach Rodolfo Sanchez.

The Cuban team also looks forward to improve the depth chart with setters like Leandro Macias (Santiago de Cuba) and Ricardo Calvo (Villa Clara), as well as veteran libero Keibel Gutierrez (Villa Clara).

Brazil is one of the top favorites to get the gold medal, while Finland, Germany and South Korea played at the 2014 World League with modest performance. Tunisia lost twice against Cuba, that won the Group III at the FIVBWL.

Cuba has won two Silver Medals and the same number of Bronze Medals in the history of the World Championships since the first edition of 1949 in Prague, where the Former Soviet Union conquered the first place, while the Cubans finished ranked in the 19th position.

After that participation, Cuba finished in the next final positions in Men’s World Championships: 17 (1966), 13 (1970), 8 (1974), 3 (1978), 10 (1982), 5 (1985), 2 (1990), 4 (1994), 3 (1998), 19 (2002), 15 (2006) and 2 (2010).

The other three Pools that are part of the World Championships are Argentina, Serbia, Australia, Cameroon, Venezuela and Poland (A-Wroclaw); Russia, Bulgaria, Canada, Egypt, China and Mexico (C-Gdansk), as well as USA, Italy, Iran, France, Puerto Rico and Belgium (D-Krakow).