Cuba wins five-set duel over Argentina

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 24, 2011 – Cuba overcame Argentina in a five-setter (25-22, 18-25, 24-26, 25-18, 15-13) to open Pool A in the men’s volleyball tournament at the Pan American Games Guadalajara 2011.

Wilfredo Leon was the top scorer for Cuba with 19 points followed by Henry Bell who contributed 15 including five blocks. Isbel Mesa and Rolando Cepeda each registered 10 points. Federico Pereyra and Mariano Giustiniano led Argentina with 18 and 16 points respectively while Pablo Crer and Sebastian Sole added 11 and 10.

Cuba committed 38 unforced errors, three more than the 35 totaled by Argentina during the match that lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Wilfredo Leon Venero (Captain of Cuba): “The match was good. They had their tactics, we had ours. Our team played well with some ups and downs, but generally we had a good and spectacular match.”

Sebastian Sole (Captain of Argentina): “It was a good match, with a very short difference. We could do what we planned. We could dominate the match when we were up in the score but they broke our service and our attack, and things became complicated.”

Orlando Samuels (Coach of Cuba): “We feel glad because we finally won. I did not like the way we played today a lot, but in the end the final result really counts. Argentina is a complicated team, they play very smart and that make a difficult match for us. The first match is always difficult.”

Javier Weber (Coach of Argentina): “This was a tough match, very competitive. Argentina worked very well in defense and service, but with a rival like Cuba it is always difficult. We have gotten some points that are very important for the general classification, because the competition system y complicated.”