Venezuela and Bulgaria stay in Final
Round contention
 June
18, 2005 – Both Venezuela and Bulgaria
did their chances of reaching the 2005
World League Final Round a world of good
by both recording impressive victories
over Japan and Cuba respectively in
their opening matches of Round Four of
the Intercontinental Round.
Venezuela comfortably beat Japan 3-0
(25-22, 25-18, 25-20) in Tokyo with
captain Ernardo "Harry" Gomez leading
all scorers with 20 points, and clearly
feeling at home in the country where he
plays his club volleyball.
For Japan, who suffered their seventh
straight loss in Pool A, their leading
scorer with 13 was Marcos Sugiyama, who
scored some spectacular winners but
received little support from his
overawed teammates.
Venezuela, who improved to 3-4 in seven
matches, with all three victories coming
against Japan, had far too much height
and power at the net for a Japan team
lacking in confidence.
Meanwhile, in Havana, Bulgaria, who
finished fourth at the 2004 World League,
took revenge against Cuba following two
defeats at home in the opening round of
the competition in front of a packed
Cuban crowd and kept their Final Round
chances alive in Pool B.
The home team made numerous errors,
especially in the service and the
blocking but it was still a momentous
victory for Bulgaria in a red hot
atmosphere.
Both squads will meet again Saturday
night at Havana's Ciudad Deportiva Hall. |
Competition Formula