Cuba finish strong to take Brazil down in Rio again

Cuba’s firepower was just too much for Brazil, as the Caribbean relied on their offense to make a strong push at the end and beat the South Americans in front of their fans in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and claim their first victory in the Volleyball Nations League 2025.

Playing in front of a huge crowd at the Maracanãzinho stadium, the two sides went to five sets and, at the end, the Cubans came out on top. The United States and Iran are set to get on the court at 21:00 local time (00:00 GMT, Friday), in the second and last match of the day in Brazil.

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After winning the first two sets by tight margins, the Cubans saw the Brazilians feed from the energy of their fans and come back, taking the match to the tie-breaker. In the decisive set, their offensive power made a difference and led them to triumph 3-2 (27-25, 26-24, 21-25, 20-25, 15-13), frustrating the home crowd.

Producing consistently during the entire match, Cuban star outside hitter Marlon Yant topped all scorers with 23 points, all in kills. Opposite Jose Masso and captain Miguel Ángel López, who didn’t play in the team’s debut, a 3-1 loss to Slovenia on Wednesday, added 18 each.

“It was an amazing match,” López said. “We fought for every point, and I’d like to congratulate the team. Each of our players helped us take the win today. We couldn’t play in the way we wanted in our first match, but today we came back to take the victory.”

It was the second-straight year in which Cuba managed to upset Brazil at the Marcanãzinho in the VNL. Last year, the teams met in their first match in the tournament, and the Caribbean won 3-1.

High-scoring opposite Darlan Souza was Brazil’s most productive player on the court, registering 21 points, with 19 kills and two aces. Outside hitter Henrique Honorato and middle blocker Judson Nunes added 14 each.

“I thought we played well in the first two sets, but ended up losing in the details,” captain Flavio Gualberto said. “It was really important for us to come back in the third set and show our strength to our fans. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win, but in the end, the process is more important than the result. The younger players are doing a really good job, and now we’ll prepare for Saturday.”

With their first two matches in the VNL 2025 completed, Brazil have four points and Cuba, two.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

The Caribbean will have an opportunity to increase their total on Friday, when they play Ukraine at 17:30 local time (20:30 GMT). Later, at 21:00 (00:00 GMT, Saturday), Iran and Slovenia will get on the court.

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