Unbeaten Brazil wins pool B in the first round of 2014 World Championship
Katowice, Poland, September 7, 2014- Brazil led pool B of the 2014 FIVB World Championship as they beat battling Cuba 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-17) at the end of the first round in Katowice, Poland, on Sunday.
Brazil stayed unbeaten in the pool matches and improved their record to 5-0 with 14 points of which they carry over 9 pts to the second round, while Cuba dropped to 2-3 to finish fourth with 6 points, but they will pass the second round with only one.
Aggressive serves, advance in blocks and good passes followed by high attack efficiency was Brazil’s key to win Sunday’s match with Cuba.
Key points:
• Cuba scored 13 points from leading in spike (47-34).
• 7 points by service were gained by Brazil, against 3 scored by Cuba.
• Sidaõ and Lucas led Brazil (both with 10 points), Isbel Mesa was the Cuba's top scorer (16 points).
• Brazil lost the first set, mostly because of their mistakes- they made 11 of them against 6 made by Cuba.
With three hard spikes in a row, displayed by Valdes Romero, Santiago Uriarte and Isbel Mesa, Cuba jumped 3-0 ahead in the first set. Playing well in defence and blocking Lucarelli’s spike, they kept the leading at the first technical timeout (8-5). Catching up, Brazil with an efficient block by Murilo and Lucas, followed by Wallace’s kill took 10-9 leading. Very balanced game throughout next minutes was the spectacle of huge spikes and well-played defence. After Sidaõ’s fine serve, Brazil changed the scores, going 19-17 ahead. Nevertheless, Ernesto Jimenez and Santiago Uriarte helped their team to won some fierce actions and score two point of advance (22-20). Outside spike by Wallace finished the first set 25-22 for Cuba.
Brazil ran 5-3 ahead at the beginning of the second set, but staying focused Cuba managed to catch up at 5-5, after blocking Lucas’s middle spike. With an ace displayed by Ernesto Jimenez, Cubans took one point of leading (7-6) and increased it to two points at the first technical timeout, after Jimenez’s kill. Thanks to Jimenez, who continued with good performance, Cuba jumped out to 11-7, putting a pressure on Brazil. With Felipe Fonteles’s spike and an efficient block by Murilo and Lucas, Brazil started the chase of the score and after Bruno’s fine dink, they came closer at 15-14. At 19-19. The leading was kept, and the second set finished 25-23, after Cuba’s serve error.
Both teams tried their best to build some comfortable leading in the third set. Series of serve errors (by Vissotto and David Fiel) didn’t help any of them with running ahead. After Vissotto’s kill, Brazil managed to led 8-6 at the first technical timeout. Effective block spikes by Murilo and Lucas let Brazil gained four points in advance (11-7). Brazil extended the leading to 17-11 as they controlled the game till the end of the set 25-18.
The beginning of the fourth set- as well as the previous one- continued on a point-by-point basis. After Cuba’s serve error, Brazil gained 8-7 leading at the first technical timeout. With a fine spike and aggressive Felipe Fonteles’s serve, Brazil increased their leading to three points (10-7). Preventing Cuba from passing well, Brazil went 12-8 ahead. Effectives kills displayed by Vissotto in addition with hard serves led Brazil throughout the fourth set ended 25-17 after Bruno’s fine dink.