Cuba in the 2025 Nations League: Not Always Meant to Be

It is impossible not to get your hopes up when real opportunities exist. Still, we had already cautioned that Cuba’s current men’s volleyball team had nothing to lose in the 2025 Nations League finals.

Their time in Ningbo, China, may have been brief, but the mission was already accomplished when they secured their first-ever appearance in this stage since the tournament replaced the defunct World League.

Recall that in previous years, we struggled just to avoid relegation—a fight that even cost us a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics. When this year’s competition began, it seemed like déjà vu, until the second week changed everything.

With their finals ticket already secured, the next hurdle was Italy, the second-best team in the preliminary round with 10 wins in 12 matches, trailing only Brazil—who lost just once in the entire tournament, and that was to Cuba.

Against Italy, we needed our best performance. While Marlon Yant, Yonder García, and middle blockers Robertlandy Simón and Javier Concepción held their own, we missed the José Israel Massó from the preliminaries and, most crucially, setter Julio Alberto Gómez.

The young player faced his toughest test yet and couldn’t quite rise to the occasion, forcing the Cuban coaching staff to turn back to Javier Thondike, the original starting setter.

Everyone knows how vital this position is in volleyball, and achieving stability here has been Cuba’s biggest challenge in recent years. Gómez had seemed to offer a glimmer of hope, but he’ll need more time—and tougher tests—to prove himself. After all, anyone can have an off day.

As for captain Miguel Ángel López, it was more of the same. Unfortunately, when the outside hitter dons the Cuban jersey, he rarely performs at his usual level. This time, he was even benched in the second set.

In his place came Osniel Mergarejo, who—despite far less media attention—almost always delivers. In just over two sets, he became the team’s second-highest scorer, behind only Yant.

The Cubans committed 37 errors in total, far too many against a rival of Italy’s caliber. Still, their serve reception—a chronic weakness—showed rare stability.

As we wrote before, everything needed to align perfectly for a major upset. While that didn’t happen, this remains a significant achievement. Let’s hope it marks a turning point, one that convinces these players they truly belong among the elite.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff