STARING at an unforgivable defeat in the fourth set, Cuba went to its most reliable player--Yumilka Luaces Ruiz--when the going got tough and pulled off a dramatic victory over a hard-fighting Italian crew yesterday in the World Volleyball Grand Prix.
Ruiz, a vital cog in Cuba's capture of the Olympic gold medal and the world championship title the past three years, almost single-handedly took on the entire Italian contingent to prevail, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23 and 27-25.
The high-leaping Ruiz was simply at her most lethal form in the fourth set, rallying the Cubans from a 17-20 deficit to a 24-22 lead.
But then, the Italians forced them 24-24 and 25-25 deadlocks.
That's when the 21-year-old from Camaguey played the hero's role for Cuba.
With the huge Saturday crowd at the PhilSports Arena up on its feet and roaring like crazy, Ruiz made it 26-25 and then at matchpoint, ended a brief rally by outwitting Italian blockers Sabrina Bertini and Manuela Leggeri at the deep left side of the net.
In what came as a shock end to the gallant fight put up by the Italians, Bertini turned goat for the Italians as she was caught touching the net by the referee while trying to block Ruiz from scoring the final point.
The thrilling win was the second in a row for the Cubans after losing three straight in the first leg of the series in Genting, Malaysia, recently. Cuba returned to its fearsome form to devastate South Korea in the opening match on Friday.
More importantly, the Cubans raised its total to seven points in the series and suddenly gave themselves a good chance at qualifying for the grand finals next week in China where a top purse of $200,000 -- a lot bigger than the $60,000 up for grabs here.
It will be a tough task for the Cubans to qualify
as they are pitted against defending series champion Brazil in today's
final day of the three-day series organized by the Philippine Amateur Volleyball
Association and sanctioned by FIVB
Brazil had posted four straight wins, including a sweep of the Malaysia
leg and a rousing win over Italy two days ago, going into their game against
Korea. If they beat Korea, the Brazilians are automatically in the finals
but a loss will put them in a big showdown against Cuba.
With so much at stake in their game against Brazil, Cuba is expected to step up in a bid to avert a rare elimination in the series which also features China, Russia, Japan and Netherlands playing in the other qualifying group.
The top four players after the two-week qualifying will advance to the grand finals.
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Italy, on the other hand, also now has seven points
and needs to win over South Korea today to
"We didn't have to make major changes even when we fell behind. The
team just played harder in the succeeding sets," said Cuban coach Antonio
Perdomo.
Adapted from The Philippine Daily Inquirer Interactive, August 22, 1999