Italvolley defeated Cuba in the pre-Olympic: now Brazil but qualification is at risk

Italy’s life is complicated after suffering their second defeat in the Rio Pre-Olympic. In fact, in the penultimate act of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Brazil, Italvolley suffered their second defeat in six matches, beating Cuba 25-22, 21-25, 27-25, 29-27. A result that leaves Italy in third place together with the Caribbean, behind Germany and Brazil who lead the race for the Olympics. At this point the Azzurri will play everything tomorrow, at 3pm Italian time, against the hosts Brazil. It was a long and tight match, often point to point, but the Cubans did well to bring the result to their side in the decisive moments. Italy had set points in both the third and fourth sets but never managed to score. Winning two sets would have been enough to oust Cuba and play it all against Brazil.

Hanging by a thread

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To go to Paris now you need a feat. Considering Cuba’s easy match against Iran already qualified, the Azzurri are forced to overcome Brazil with a three-point haul (therefore 3-0 or 3-1) and hope that Cuba does worse in the set ratio and, in case of parity, in the points quotient. If the hosts beat the Azzurri they will qualify for the Games.