South Korea finally ended its 37-game losing streak against Cuba by defeating the world No. 4 side in the opening day of the World Volleyball league on Saturday.
Playing in front of their home crowd at the Suwon Gymnasium, the young Korean side notched a straight set win (25-20, 29-27, 25-18) over the lackluster Cuban side, which missed some of their key players.
Debutant Jeon Kwang-il scored 20 points Choi Hong-suk and Shin Yung-suk added 15 points to help the team claim victory over the Cubans for the first time since 1984.
The Cuban side, struggling to shake off an overnight trip from Europe, was very ineffective from the start of the game, producing many unforced errors and allowing the Korean side to take the lead.
Korean national team players celebrate after beating Cuba. (Yonhap News)
In the second set, the Cuban players were beginning to find their rhythm, but the Korean side’s confidence was already high. In particular, the inspired 20-year-old Jeon claimed 13 points alone to clinch the set. And after the first two sets, the Koreans dominated the game, taking a 9-0 lead before the Cubans scored their first point.
“We had no pressure against the Cuba team as we already knew they are very strong,” said Jeon after the match.
“I think it helped me play better.”
Manager Park Ki-won, however, admitted that the opponents were not at their best on Saturday. “They were below 70 percent of their capability. We need to continue to play well to beat them again,” Park said.
The FIVB World Volleyball league is scheduled May 27-July 10 with 16 qualified teams across the world competing. The teams are dived in four groups, and Korea is in Group D with Cuba, Italy and France. The top two teams of each group will advance to the final round, which is slated July 6-19 in Poland.
By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldm.com)
