Cuba Names Roster for Men's Volleyball Pre-Olympic Tournament in Canada

Cuban head coach Jesús Cruz announced the team that will participate from September 11 to 19 in the North, Central America and Caribbean Continental Championship (Norceca), hosted in Moncton, Canada, where the Olympic berth for the Los Angeles 2028 multi-sport event will be at stake.

After reporting the last-minute withdrawal due to illness of José Massó, Cruz provided the list of the 14 selected for the Norceca pre-Olympic tournament: setters Christian Thondike and Ronaldo Flaquet; opposite hitters Alejandro Rodríguez and Daniel Martínez; and middle blockers Robertlandy Simón, Alexis Wilson, David Fiel, and Thiago Suárez.

Completing the squad are outside hitters Miguel Ángel López, Marlon Yant, Osniel Mergarejo, and Yusniel Martí, and liberos Lázaro Arrechea and Yonder García.

According to the website www.norceca.net, Cuba will debut on September 11 against the Dominican Republic, followed by Guatemala on September 12, and the United States on September 13, closing the preliminary group phase.

September 14 will be the quarterfinal stage, September 15 will begin the fight for fifth through eighth places and the semifinals, while September 16 will determine fifth and seventh places, as well as the bronze and gold medal winners.

It should be noted that the top three teams will secure berths to the World Championship.

The semifinal for Olympic qualification is scheduled for September 18, and the final on September 19 will decide the winning selection that earns the spot for Los Angeles 2028.

The other teams participating in the Canadian city are hosts Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

The United States has already secured its Olympic presence by virtue of being the host nation.

Cruz's pupils will arrive in Canada after playing several friendly and preparation matches, notably the quadrangular tournament in Italy, where they finished undefeated in their three outings.

In their last match, they defeated Brazil in Messina at PalaRescifina with a score of 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18), after overcoming Germany and the Italian hosts.

Against the Germans, the victory was 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 21-25, 21-19) in Reggio Calabria, while against the locals in Messina, they won 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 16-25, 25-19, 15-13), in that order.

The squad for that tournament included setters Christian Manuel Thondike Mejías and Julio Alberto Gómez Gálvez; attackers Nivaldo Nadhir Días Gómez, Marlon Yant Herrera, and Miguel Ángel López Castro; middle blockers David Fiel Rodríguez, Robertlandy Simón Aties, Thiago Suárez Mendoza, and Alexis Wilson Velázquez; opposite hitters Alejandro Miguel González Rodríguez and José Israel Masso Álvarez; and liberos Yonder García Álvarez and Lázaro Arrechea Najarro.

Previously, Cruz's pupils participated in another preparation and friendly tournament in Russia, where they closed with a 3-0 victory over the local squad in Ufa, capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, with set scores of 25-22, 34-32, and 25-20, finishing with a record of two wins and one loss.

They also defeated Belarus 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-21) but later lost 0-3 (16-25, 19-25, 22-25) to Iran.

The Cuban squad arrived in Bashkortostan after splitting honors, both in five sets, in preparation matches against Dynamo LO in Sosnovy Bor, a city in the Leningrad region.

They first fell with set scores of 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 15-25, and 12-15, but then bounced back with scores of 25-20, 25-27, 25-19, 23-25, and 15-11—excellent results against a high-level competitive squad.

Undoubtedly, excellent preparation for the Cubans ahead of the Moncton pre-Olympic tournament, where the Norceca Olympic berth for Los Angeles 2028 will be at stake starting September 11.