Cuba claims victory over Italy on final day of final round of FIVB World Grand Prix

(BEIJING, July 13) -- World No.3 Cuba defeated No. 2 Italy 28-30, 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 to claim their fourth win in the final round of the FIVB World Grand Prix at Yokohama Arena on July 13. Cuba, Grand Prix champions in 1993 and 2000, improved their win-loss record to 4-1, while Italy dropped to 2-3.

In the first set of the volleyball match, Cuba was ahead 8-7 at the first technical time-out (TTO), but Italy came back to lead 16-15 at the second TTO. Italy maintained the lead until Cuba called a time-out at 23-21. With both teams refusing to cave in, the set headed into a tiebreak. Finally, Italy grabbed the fourth set point and closed the set 30-28.

Cuba started out well in the second set and again led 8-7 at the first TTO. The Italians tried to fight back but were denied by the powerful Cubans. With 24-17 on the board, Cuba played confidently and ended the set 25-18.

In the next two sets, the Cubans completely controlled the tempo of the match. Italy started slowly in the third set and lagged behind throughout the set. Cuba went into the first TTO 8-4 and the second 16-10. Italy narrowed the gap, catching up till they were a mere point away from tying at 23-24, but still lost at 23-25. The Cubans showed their strength again in the fourth set, leading 8-5 at the first TTO and 16-12 at the second. With confident control, the Cubans closed the set 25-19 and took the match 3-1.

The final match between Brazil and Japan will kick off at 6:00 p.m. in Yokohama, Japan.