The Cuban team defeated China in four sets today to secure seventh place in the 2025 Men's U-21 Volleyball World Championship, which concludes this Sunday in Jiangmen.

The match ended with scores of 25-20, 25-19, 20-25, and 25-22 in an arena filled with local fans hoping to see their team win. China entered this match with four wins and four losses, a record identical to that of the Caribbean team.

The players coached by Lian Sem Estrada Joa displayed superior numbers in attacks (52-44) and serves (8-3). They recorded one fewer block (10-11) and committed three more errors (28-25).

Their star player, the towering Daniel Martínez, performed with his usual productivity, totaling 26 points—19 from spikes, one from a block, and six direct service aces. He concluded his extraordinary performance with an astronomical efficiency rating of 225 (185-11-29), far surpassing his closest followers.

Outside hitter Carlos Pereira followed with 17 points (14-3-0), and middle blocker José Morejón added 11 (8-3-0). Opposite hitter Alessandro González contributed 8 points (7-0-1), setter Ronaldo Flaquet scored 5 (2-3-0), and middle blocker Nathan Massó added 2 (1-0-1).

For China, four players reached double digits, led by Haoze Mu and Hai Li, both with 13 points.

The Cuban team entered the final day of the tournament with victories over Bulgaria (3-1), Brazil (3-0), Colombia (3-2), and Egypt (3-0), and losses to the Czech Republic (2-3), Japan (0-3), Italy (1-3), and Poland (0-3).

This achievement marks Cuba’s return to the top eight in the world for the first time since 2017, when that generation competed for the gold medal against Poland. In 2019, the team finished tenth, and in 2021, eleventh.

In other matches on the extensive final day, Egypt defeated Kazakhstan (3-0) for 13th place; Japan beat South Korea (3-1) for 11th place; Ukraine overcame Bulgaria (3-0) for ninth place; France defeated Poland (3-1) for fifth place; and the United States swept the Czech Republic (3-0) to secure the silver medal. Italy and Iran will compete for the championship title.

In related news, Cuba’s senior men’s national team traveled to China on Saturday for a training camp alongside their Asian counterparts, which will last until September 11. The team, consisting of the same players who participated in the Nations League finals, will then travel to the Philippines to compete in the 2025 World Championship from September 13 to 28, as confirmed by Cuban Volleyball Federation President Osvaldo Idel Martínez.