 |
Menu WL
|
|
Brazil claim Final Round spot while Pools
B & C remain open
 Lausanne,
Switzerland, June 26, 2005 – Champions for
the past two years Brazil will defend their
crown in the Final Round in Belgrade after
securing the Pool A ticket following two
straight set victories over Japan Sao Paulo
during Week Five of the Intercontinental
Round, while their closest rivals Portugal
split their matches with Venezuela.
Portugal needed to do the double in
Caracas and after completing an
excellent 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-22) win
on Friday, they collapsed badly as
Venezuela triumphed 3-0 (25-20, 25-22,
25-19) on Sunday, eliminating Portugal
from the race. With one round (two
matches) still to play, Pool A sees
Brazil on top (9-1), Portugal second
(6-4), Venezuela third (5-5) and Japan
still searching for their first win.
More
Pic: Support for Brazil at home was
amazing
|
Race still on in all three pools
 June
25, 2005 – The 2005 World League
continues to keep fans on the edge of
their seats heading into the final day
of Week 5 of the Intercontinental Round
on Sunday with all three Pools still
undecided in the race for the Final
Round in Belgrade.
Automatic qualifiers Serbia & Montenegro
silenced over 11,000 local fans when
they pipped Poland on Saturday in a
marathon five-set cliff hanger 3-2
(23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-10) in
Katowice, which opens the door for third
placed Greece to close the gap on the
Pool C leaders, when they play Argentina
on Sunday.
More
Pic: Italy fought back to beat Cuba
after losing on Friday
|
Cuba go top of Pool
B after claiming Italian scalp
 Havana,
Cuba, June 24, 2005 – World number 16 Cuba pleased over 15,000
passionate fans who witnessed their 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-21)
win over last year’s silver medallists Italy. The win, where
Raidel Poey, Yasser Portuondo and Osmany Juantorena all made
superb contributions, propels Cuba to the top of Pool B, one
point ahead of Italy, with their sixth victory perhaps being the
most important of the lot as they aim to qualify for the World
League finals for the first time since 2001. It is the first
time that Cuba has defeated Italy in three sets during a
preliminary match of the World League. The Caribbean team had
beaten Italy 3-0 on the 1998 final.
More
|
Stunning win keeps Portugal in the
hunt as Argentina drop out of contention
 Lausanne,
Switzerland, June 24, 2005 – Over 8,000
fans in Caracas stood and applauded an
outstanding Portuguese performance in
beating Venezuela in Pool A to keep
their Final Round hopes alive in the
latest match of Round Five of the 2005
World League Intercontinental Round.
Other results saw Bulgaria give their
Final Round chances a substantial boost
in Pool B after beating France while
Pool C is now down to a two-horse race
after Poland and Greece beat Serbia and
Montenegro and Argentina respectively.
More
|
Tough at the top of
Pool B
 Havana,
Cuba, June 24, 2005 – Cuba and Italy
will play two games on Friday and
Saturday at Havana’s Ciudad Deportiva
Hall in their attempt to keep the lead
of Pool B of the 2005 World League
Intercontinental Round.
Roberto García, the head coach of the
home team, said that the first match is
the key and his players are ready to do
their best on court to win.
“Mathematically, this group is not
decided, obviously, a 2-0 or a 1-1 split
against Italy will put us in a better
position to qualify for the final,” he
added after confirming the list of 12
players.
He admitted that “we had some
difficulties against Bulgaria last week,
but we managed to beat them and won the
second match, but we faced one of the
best team in the world.”
More
Pic: In round two Cuba and Italy
split both their matches |
Poland at full strength for first
time
 Katowice,
Poland, June 23, 2005 – Pool C leaders
Poland will have their full strength
lineup start a match for the first time
in the 2005 World League when they play
final round hosts Serbia and Montenegro
in Round Five of the Intercontinental
Round this weekend.
Both matches are expected to be sell out
affairs as Poland’s passionate
supporters are renowned for filling
every last seat when Poland play at home
and Polish coach Raul Lozano believes
his side will definitely take advantage
of that fact starting in the first game,
which is played on Friday night at 17:00
GMT.
More
Pic: Poland's seventh player - the
fans
|
Heat on Portugal and Greece to stay
in contention
 Lausanne,
Switzerland, June 22, 2005 – A pair of
victories to Brazil against Japan in
Pool A and Poland, who visit Serbia and
Montenegro in Pool C, this weekend will
put both sides in the driver’s seat for
claiming a Final Round berth after this
weekend’s fifth round.
Both countries have a two point lead (two
points for a win and one for a defeat)
over their nearest rivals - Portugal in
Pool A and Greece in Pool C - and any
slip up by their closest opponents could
spell an early finish for the race for
the Final Round tickets, provided both
Brazil and Poland do the double this
weekend.
More
Pic: Portugal will try and keep their
fans happy by beating Venezuela twice
this weekend
|
Crucial Cuba-Italy showdown named
“match of the week”
 Lausanne,
Switzerland, June 22, 2005 – The top of
the table showdown in Pool B between
Cuba and Italy in Havana will have fans
in living rooms around the world glued
to their seats after being selected as
the FIVB’s “match of the week” for Round
Five.
For the fifth week running, the FIVB
will provide a live satellite broadcast
of a key World League game and the
second match between Cuba and last
year’s silver medalists Italy on Sunday
26 June at 00:40 GMT (20:40 p.m.
Saturday night local time) in the "Ciudad
Deportiva" Coliseum, Havana has plenty
riding on it.
Both sides are level on 13 points with
five wins and three defeats so if one
side manages to do the double this
weekend they will take a handy lead
going into the final Intercontinental
Round next weekend for the race to win
the pool and claim the one ticket on
offer to the Final Round in Belgrade.
More
French
Spanish
Pic: Cuba and Italy split their
matches in Round Two in Italy collecting
a 3-1 victory each |
|
|
|
Competition Formula
