The defeat erased whatever chances Cuba still had of making the finals
next week in China, as they finished fifth in the qualifying series behind
Brazil, Russia, China and Italy.
BRAZIL reasserted its mastery this season over reigning Olympic and world champion Cuba with a 26-28, 25-17, 25-21 and 25-23 victory last night to capture the Manila leg of the World Volleyball Grand Prix at a jampacked PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Brazil's frontliners--Virna Dias, Ana Moser and crowd-favorite Leila Barros--ripped the inconsistent defense of Cuba with such tenacity, giving their team a six-game sweep of the two-week qualifying series.
While the win didn't mean too much for Brazil as it had already assured itself of a grand finals slot as early as Saturday, the loss was particularly painful for Cuba.
The defeat erased whatever chances Cuba still had of making the finals
next week in China, as they finished fifth in the qualifying series behind
Brazil, Russia, China and Italy.
Italy beat Korea in the first game, coming back from two sets down to salvage the fourth and last spot.
Brazil, the main threat to Cuba's hold of the world's No. 1 spot, won $60,000 for winning the Manila leg, Cuba settled for the $40,000 runner-up prize, Italy earned $30,000 as third-placer, while Korea went home with $20,000.
Meanwhile, Dias and Barros led the winners of the individual awards.
Dias clinched Most Valuable Player honors while Barros was named the best attacker and most popular player. Cuban Francia Vasconceles Mirka was adjudged the best blocker, Francesca Piccinini the best server and Choi Kuang [sic] Hee of Korea the best receiver.
In the first match, Italy grappled with South Korea through five drama-filled sets before pulling off a stirring victory in the World Volleyball Grand Prix.
With Francesca Piccinini, Antonella Bragaglia and Maurizia Cacciatori rising to the occasion in separate stages of the two-and-a-half-hour duel, the Italians rallied from two sets down to squeeze a 13-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-14 and 15-10 before one of the biggest local crowds ever to watch a volleyball game.
Piccinini, the 5-foot-11 bombshell of a spiker, made it all happen in the deciding set for the Italians with an assortment of powerful strikes that sent the jampacked crowd shrieking in excitement.
And when Chang Yoon-hee hit her spike long at matchpoint with Italy comfortably ahead at 14-10, the fans gave the Italians a thunderous ovation as they celebrated on court.
Although the win failed to give the Italians any chance of winning Manila leg honors as they had lost their first two matches to Cuba and Brazil, it boosted their chances of making it to next week's grand finals in China.
Italian coach Angiolino Frigoni said that his team's character showed when
it was needed most.
"I'm really very happy with the win, I didn't know what to tell my players," said Frigoni, credited for steering Italy to great heights in the international volleyball scene.
"My team played really bad in the first two sets. The team that you saw in the last three sets was the real Italian team," said Frigoni. "Even if we don't make it to the finals, I'm still happy to have ended our campaign with a victory."
The Italians finished the two-week qualifying with 9 points on a 3-3 win-loss card while Korea got eliminated with 8 points on a respectable 2-4 performance.
Brazil, Russia and China are all but assured of a stint in the finals where a $200,000 top prize will be up for grabs while Cuba and Italy are fighting it out for the last berth.
The 21-year-old Piccinini, who has struggled in Week 1 of the qualifying, played his best game so far as the Pietrasanta native earned 24 points on 76 attempts.
Bragaglia took care of the defensive chores so well
she made 14 while Cacciatori was rated for 57 excellent tosses.
Adapted from The Philippine Daily Inquirer Interactive, August 23, 1999