Cracking clash between Cuba and Poland
to open World League Final Round
 Lausanne,
Switzerland, July 4, 2005 – Two of the
most electrifying teams in men's
Volleyball – Cuba and Poland - have been
given the honour of playing the opening
match of the 2005 World League Final
Round, which starts on Friday in the
"Belgrade Arena" Hall of Sports, Serbia
and Montenegro.
The official match schedule for this
breathtaking climax to the premier
annual men's Volleyball tournament has
been confirmed with Cuba and Poland
playing at 17:00 (local time) before
defending champions Brazil take on hosts
and last year’s bronze medalists Serbia
and Montenegro in the second match at
20:00, in what is a repeat of the
riveting 2003 final in Madrid, in which
Brazil prevailed 3-2 (25-16, 21-25,
19-25, 25-23, 31-29).
The winner from each of the opening day
matches will play the loser from the
opposing match on Saturday to find out
who will reach Sunday’s final to play
for the honour of 2005 World League
champion. The losers of Saturday’s
matches will play for third and fourth.
Pic: Poland have already played in
Belgrade beating Serbia & Montenegro 3-1
(25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 26-24) in Week
Three
Cuba, ranked 16th in the world, have
been the revelation of the tournament,
with their young and athletic squad
revisiting the Cuban World League glory
days of the 90’s when Cuba finished no
worst than fourth.
Their eight wins and four defeats during
the Intercontinental Round were enough
to pip eight time champions Italy in the
race for the finals ticket in Pool B,
confirming their place with victory in
their final match against France. This
will be the first finals series which
Italy has missed in all 16 editions of
the World League.
Poland, ranked seventh in the world, had
an equally exciting journey. With bumper
home crowds watching their every move,
the Poles overcome a difficult injury
toll and some stern opposition to finish
top of Pool C with nine wins and three
defeats.
Olympic champions Brazil had the best
Intercontinental Round record , despite
losing their first World League match in
25 games dating back to 2003 (against
Portugal in Week Two in an historic
straight sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-23)
defeat), with a 11-1 win-loss return.
As hosts, Serbia and Montenegro
automatically qualified but looked all
the part, storming to a 7-5 win-loss
record including five wins out of their
last six matches, which not surprisingly
coincided with the return of some of
their big stars - Nikola Grbić, Ivan
Miljković and Andrija Gerić.
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