Volleyball (m) Finally Gets Its Prize

The Cuban men's volleyball team suffered a lot in recent years, but this Saturday it finally received its reward, with qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

It was not optimism that was precisely in the air to achieve that dream, especially since we had just lost in only three sets against Canada a few days ago in the Norceca tournament.

However, the much-criticized coach Jesús Cruz's strategy of not putting our main figures on the field at that moment bore fruit, because it seemed The Canadians came out confident in the most important duel of this cycle, and they paid dearly for it.

Aware that this was now or never for a high-level generation that is the basis of this team, the Cuban team went all out and approached its best version.

The fans gathered in the city of Moncton could not believe the enormous change from one day to the next, but evidently the Antillean coaching staff worked with every intention so that their pupils gave one hundred percent at the right moment, not before.

It was the same rival that left them out of the Tokyo 2020 event, and they had not managed to sneak into the Paris 2024 contestants either, neither through this route nor through the League of Nations.

I was able to see the match from the third set, when the locals won 16-13 and despite a rebound from our team, the victory could not be secured.

However, I did not see discouragement in the ranks of the Cuban team, but rather confidence that they would finish the task, and so it was with a fourth quarter in which despite the fact that they tied us at 19 when we were ahead by two points, the momentum did not diminish as on previous occasions, and the task could be closed.

At 42 years old, Robertlandy Simón will already have his Olympics, and it would have been unfair for such an memorable career not to have the main sporting event on the planet in his record.

This time our own errors were controlled and the majority were on serve, but I have always said that I prefer the aggressive serve, the one that, although it does not directly translate into a point, dislodges the opposing point guard, and we were against one of the best.

Reception, one of our biggest historical problems, was managed to be controlled thanks to libero Yonder García and the two titans of this feat: Marlon Yant and Miguel Ángel López, who also shouldered the team offensively with 25 and 22 points respectively, 48% of the total.

Cristian Thondike was not completely accurate in the pass, but he managed to distribute quite well, despite the fact that the attack in the center almost fell entirely on Simón, because Alexis Wilson seemed nervous and that weakened the variations in that area.
In the case of the flying Cuban, although he could not overcome the opposing blocks on many occasions, he managed with all his skill to make the northern hands throw the ball out.

His tears at the end of the match were the best example of shame for a player who has been asked a lot for his high performance in foreign leagues, but had fell short with the Cuban team on more than one occasion. This time, and hopefully forever, he contributed what was asked of him.

Also very timely are the interventions of the young Alejandro Miguel González, among the figures with the greatest future in the team, who had his true baptism of fire here, because these are the games in which the ball is hot, and he always asked for it without shrinking.

The ticket to the Olympic concert could not be obtained any other way, because when push comes to shove you have to put in what you can't learn in a gym.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff