Cuba, Brazil and Poland all confirmed
to join Serbia and Montenegro in World
League final round
 Lausanne,
Switzerland, July 3, 2005 – After six
weeks, 72 matches and over 130 hours of
pulsating Volleyball action the four
finalists for the 2005 World League have
been confirmed at the conclusion of the
Intercontinental Round on Sunday with
defending champions Brazil, Cuba and
Poland joining hosts Serbia and
Montenegro in the final round in
Belgrade.
The commitment and passion shown by all
12 teams during the six weeks of global
action had fans around the world on the
edge of their seats, with two of the
three pools not confirming their winner
until the last weekend.
World number one Brazil confirmed their
final round spot in Pool A during week
five but it was Cuba in Pool B and
Poland in Pool C who left it until the
last minute to seal their places.
Pic: Great defence from Cuba's Speek
Odelvis Dominico (left) and Portuondo
Osmany Juantorena against France's
Vincent Montmeat
Poland didn’t actually have to touch
a ball to find out they had reached the
finals for only the second time in eight
attempts after their nearest challengers
Greece lost their opening match to
Serbia and Montenegro on Friday 3-0
(27-25, 25-22, 25-17). Greece actually
lost the second match as well 3-0
(25-15, 25-22, 27-25) to finish in third
place behind Poland, who beat Argentina
twice 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20) and 3-2
(25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 20-25, 15-10) and
Serbia and Montenegro, who look in
ominous form ahead of the finals.
In Pool B, Italy’s opening 3-1 (30-32,
25-17, 25-23, 25-21) loss in Bulgaria on
Friday opened the door to Cuba, who
gratefully strode through and booked
their first finals appearance since 2001
with two victories over France 3-0
(33-31, 33-31, 25-12) and 3-1 (20-25,
25-22, 25-19, 25-21). Italy lost again
on Sunday 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-19) but
by this stage it was academic.
Olympic champions Brazil had signed and
sealed their final round ticket in week
five but continued on their impressive
form by beating Venezuela 3-0 (25-16,
25-20, 25-21) and 3-1 (25-22, 15-25,
25-22, 25-17) to finished on top of the
group with a 11-1 win-loss record.
Portugal finished second with a 6-6
record despite being on the receiving
end of seeing Japan record their World
League victories since 2003. In a huge
surprise, Japan beat Portugal 3-2
(18-25, 20-25, 27-25, 26-24, 16-14) and
3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 31-29).
The Final Round is now set to go in
Belgrade from July 8 where Serbia and
Montenegro, Brazil, Cuba and Poland will
play in a three-day tournament with a
total of six matches.
For this special occasion, the FIVB
would like to inform all journalists
that a hotel, the Best Western Hotel M"
in Belgrade, has been reserved for those
wishing to attend and cover the finals
of the premier men's annual Volleyball
event.
For those wishing to attend, please fill
in the accreditation form on the FIVB
website and fax or email it to the FIVB
Press Department on +41 21 345 35 45 or
press@fivb.org |
Competition Formula