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Canada take early lead in Cuba

Havana, Cuba, August 18, 2005 – Canada have made a superb start at the 2006 Men’s World Championship second round tournament (NORCECA E) in Havana after collecting their second win from as many matches on Thursday.

The five day tournament, which began on Wednesday, will determine two of the four teams from the men’s NORCECA Zone that will attend next year’s World Championship Final Round in Japan.

After a solid opening performance against Panama on the opening day where Canada won in
straight sets 25-18, 25-11, 25-17, they improved to 2-0 after a lopsided victory over Trinidad & Tobago 25-18, 25-11, 25-13.

Steve Brinkman dominated the middle scoring 12 points while Dallas Soonias led the Canucks with 13 points and were assisted with significant contributions coming from veterans Scott Koskie and Paul Duerden.

“I am very pleased with the execution of our game plan today against a much improved team from Trinidad and Tobago,” stated Head Coach Stelio SeRocco. “In particular, our serving and blocking were excellent against a team that gave Cuba problems in their first match. With each match our team continues to improve leading up to the tournament final against Cuba on Sunday.”

Competing with the 14th ranked Canadians at the tournament are top ranked Cuba (12th), Panama (38th), Trinidad and Tobago (65th), and Costa Rica (65th).

Cuba are (1-0) after beating Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-16) on Wednesday while Panama are (1-1) after collecting their first win on Thursday when they beat Costa Rica 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-22).

In an alternate Zone Qualifier, the USA will be competing with Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala and Barbados, to decide the other two teams that will represent NORCECA in Final Round.

The tournament is a straight round robin format with the top two placing teams advancing to the 2006 World Championships in Japan. World ranking points will also be counted from the results, which will affect placing in next year’s World Championships.