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China and Cuba seal
Final Round spots
 Lausanne,
Switzerland, July 8, 2005 – China and Cuba, the Olympic
gold and bronze medalists respectively, are the first
two sides to confirm their spots alongside hosts Japan
in the Final Round of the 2005 World Grand Prix after
winning their seventh straight matches on the opening
day of Week Three of the Preliminary Round on Friday.
China beat the Dominican Republic in straight sets
25-20, 27-25, 25-19 in Hong Kong while in Taipei, Cuba
cruised to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-18) win over Korea.
Pic: Cuba fans applaud their heros
The victories leave China and Cuba as the only two
unbeaten sides in the competition while Brazil, who beat
the Netherlands, sit in third spot with a 6-1 win-loss
record needing just one more win to join them in the
next phase.
Italy, the Netherlands, USA (all 4-3), Poland (3-4) and
even Korea (2-5) are all still in with a chance to claim
a Final Round spot with two matches to play.
In Bangkok, USA and Poland kept their Final Round hopes
alive with victories over Thailand and Japan
respectively. USA recorded their fourth win from seven
matches when they beat Thailand 3-1 (25-14, 25-20,
13-25, 25-22) while Poland beat Japan 3-0 (25-22, 25-23,
25-22).
In Taipei, following Cuba’s comfortable victory Korea,
world number two Brazil held off a brave effort from the
Netherlands before securing a 3-1 (25-27, 25-19, 25-21,
25-17) victory.
The final venue in Hong Kong saw a brilliant 22-point
haul from Nadia Centoni lead Italy to their fourth win
when they beat Germany 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 26-24) in the
opening match. Birgit Thumm was the leading scorer for
Germany, who now have a 1-6 record, with 13 points. The
second match saw China hand the Dominican Republic their
seventh straight defeat of the competition.
Current standings after seven matches: 1) China 2) Cuba
3) Brazil 4) Japan 5) Italy 6) Netherlands 7) USA 8)
Poland 9) Korea 10) Germany 11) Dominican Republic 12)
Thailand |
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Finals