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Cuba
Click here to download Team Profile in pdf format
Cuba comes into
the World Cup with the aim of
turning around a recent run of poor form and
reorganising themselves for the Athens Olympics.
 Their
form recently has been disappointing and the glory days
of the 90's when they won the Olympic Gold three times
are all but a distant memory.
Coming off a sub-standard fifth place finish at the 2002
World Championship in Germany, a far from
satisfactory seventh placing at the Montreux Masters and
an 11th place finish at the 2003 World Grand Prix
Cuba have a lot to look forward to at the 2003 World
Cup.
The three time World Champions play a hard, Soviet-style
power game and are traditionally exceptional jumpers and
hard hitters. Indeed a former U.S. coach said of them "
they are the best. You love to watch them, but you don't
like to play against them!"
The national team has included some of the world's great
players but some of the side that won the gold medal in
Sydney 2000 have now retired. Younger players are now
being drafted into the team to lay the foundation for a
solid performance in Athens 2004.
The Cuban women have a distinguished record in
international competition and were Olympic champions
three times and have taken four World Championship
titles. Their performance in the
World Cup, will be another litmus test on their
progress ahead of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
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Recent Results
NORCECA Continental Women's Championship
in the Dominican Republic
(September)
Gold medal play-off:
Cuba lost to
USA 3-0 (25-22,
25-17, 30-28)
Semifinal: Cuba beat the Dominican Republic 3-2
(25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 15-11)
Cuba lost to USA 3-2 (20-25,
25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 15-13)
Cuba beat Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-6, 25-15, 25-14)
Cuba beat Costa Rica 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-13)
Pan Am Games in
the Dominican Republic (August)
Final: Cuba lost to
the Dominican Republic
3-2 (25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 26-28, 15-13)
Semifinal: Cuba beat USA 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-21)
Cuba beat
the Dominican Republic 3-1
(23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-21)
Cuba beat Mexico 3-0
Cuba beat Venezuela 3-0 (25-16, 25-27, 25-17)
2003 World Grand Prix in Italy (July-August)
finished 11th
Cuba
lost to Japan 3-2 (18-25,
25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13)
Cuba lost to
the Netherlands 3-2 (23-25,
19-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-13)
Cuba beat Italy 3-2 (16-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20,
15-12)
Cuba lost to Germany 3-1 (25-16, 25-14, 22-25,
25-16)
Cuba lost to USA 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-14)
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World Cup results
1999 - First
1995 - First
1991 - First
1989 - First
1985 - Second
1981 - Sixth
1977 - Second
1973 - Fifth
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