Cuba claims second victory in Pool A

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 25, 2011 – Cuba saw off Venezuela in straight sets (25-20, 25-21, 25-17) to claim its second victory in Pool A of the men’s volleyball tournament at the Pan American Games Guadalajara 2011.

After a close battle for the first two sets Cuba dominated the third with strong defense at the net and powerful spikes. The world championship silver medalists held a 9-1 advantage in the blocking department.

Wilfredo Leon was the best Cuban scorer with 13 points, including three blocks, followed by Rolando Cepeda and Henry Bell who tallied 11 apiece. Venezuela’s Kervin Piñerua and Ivan Márquez finished with 13 and 10 points respectively.

Wilfredo León Venero (Captain of Cuba): “This was a very competitive match. One of our goals was to win tit. We came out to play normally. It was very good and we solved it. We hope to win in our next match against Mexico.”

Kervin Piñerúa (Captain of Venezuela): “We went out to the court without the wish to play. You cannot do that when you face the second best team of the world. We did not have attitude and heart to play volleyball.”

Orlando Samuels (Coach of Cuba): “This was a very important match for us, because yesterday we played against Argentina and in the first match you always feel nervous. Today we played better and had control of Venezuela’s strong point. We are satisfied with this result and we will look forward to play for the gold against Brazil.”

Gilberto Herrera (Coach of Venezuela): “It was a very normal match, due to the quality of the Cuban team. We are two young teams, but Cuba is a young team that plays in the World League and also has some other preparation matches as well as a tradition of good international results that guarantee a special confidence. This is just our second international match.”