July 16, 2025. – Cuba’s victory over Bulgaria and USA’s win against Türkiye boosted both teams’ chances of qualifying for the 2025 Men’s VNL Finals. Meanwhile, Canada fell further behind in the standings after losing to Slovenia.
Cuba tops Bulgaria and stays alive
Deep in the battle for a spot in the Finals, Cuba secured the first of several victories it will need this week to earn a ticket to Ningbo in thrilling fashion.
The Caribbean squad came from behind twice before edging out Bulgaria in a five-set thriller, 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 23-25, 27-25, 15-13), and is now within the qualification zone.
Cuba jumped from ninth to seventh place with five wins and 15 points, putting them in a stronger position to advance. The loss to a direct rival dropped Bulgaria to 12th place, with four wins and 12 points.
Cuban star outside hitter Marlon Yant led all scorers with 23 points (18 kills, three blocks, and two aces), returning to the top of the VNL scoring charts with 172 points. Making his first appearance in this edition of the tournament, middle blocker Robertlandy Simón was on fire, contributing 19 points (13 kills and six blocks). Opposite José Massó (16), middle blocker Javier Concepción (15), and outside hitter José Miguel Gutiérrez (11) also reached double digits.
“We’re happy with the win because Bulgaria is a good team,” said Simón. “They’re younger, but they can compete with anyone. Tomorrow, we have another tough match against Poland, and we’re going to fight again.”
USA sweeps Türkiye and climbs the standings
The United States delivered a solid performance in their first match of the week in Chiba, defeating Türkiye in straight sets 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-19), a result that helped them leapfrog Germany in the VNL standings.
The win lifted the Americans to 10th place with five victories and 13 points, holding the same 5-4 record as Cuba, Slovenia, and Argentina. Türkiye, on the other hand, sits in 16th place with two wins and six points and remains at risk of relegation.
Opposite Gabi García led Team USA with 15 points, including 13 kills and two aces. Ethan Champlin added 13 points, one more than fellow outside hitter Cooper Robinson.
“It was a great win against a tough team,” said García. “We need every point we can get to make it to the Finals, and it was a big day for us. Now we have to keep it going. I think we played really well as a team, and I’m excited to see where this takes us.”
Canada falls to Slovenia
Canada couldn’t hold on to its first-set lead and ended up falling to host team Slovenia 1-3 (25-21, 21-25, 19-25, 21-25).
While the Canadians out-blocked Slovenia 10-6, it was the Europeans who prevailed in attacks (51-44) and service aces (6-4). Slovenia also capitalized on Canada’s 33 unforced errors, compared to just 28 of their own.
Outside hitter Brodie Hofer was Canada’s top scorer with 11 points (8 kills and 3 blocks), while Xander Ketrzynski added 10 points, all from kills.
Thursday, July 17 Match Schedule
USA and Canada will rest. Cuba faces Poland at 20:00 local time in Gdańsk, Poland.
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