MONCTON, Canada, September 16, 2026. – Cuba beat Dominican Republic in straight setsto earn NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship bronze and one of three spots at 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland.
Cuba’s 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 26-24) win at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, Canada, Wednesday, capped a successful tournament and set them up to pursue a Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games spot in the weekend’s final NORCECA qualification stage.
While the higher-ranked Cubans held the edge for much of the match, the Dominicans did not go down without a fight, forcing 19-19 ties in both the first and third sets. After being down 24-20 in the third, they survived four straight match points, forcing Cuba to need an extra for the final 26-24 score.
Cuba was ultimately stronger in all facets, with a 41-29 advantage in attacks, 9-8 in blocks and 6-3 on serves.
Hector Cruz had a strong game for the Dominicans, racking up a match-high 15 points including five blocks, also best in the match. Christian Thondike had 14 running sets in a losing cause, and Enger Mieses chipped in seven digs.
Cuba had three 11-point scorers in Robertlandy Simón, Miguel Lopez and Marlon Yant.
While Dominican Republic finishes off the podium in the continental championship, they also advanced to the weekend’s Olympic qualification opportunity.
Jesús Cruz López, Cuba coach: “Third place of the tournament is very important to give us our place for the world championships, but preparing the team for the next classification for the Olympic Games is more important. It was a day for many players to play minutes in the game. We had confidence to win against the Dominicans, but the third set we made it complicated.”
Robertlandy Simón, Cuban player: “We played a little bit better today but at the end of the game we had a lot of mistakes. We need to be better because the next game is very important for us, we need a better performance for Olympic qualification. We need to arrive in a different mentality. They played good today and made some very difficult moments in the game. We’re here to win the games and need to make our game better.”
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