Cuba is favored to beat Argentina in their Pool H duel in the FIVB World Grand Prix in Belgrade tonight.
The Cubans are coming off a sweep of host Serbia to improve to 11 points with a 4-1 record in the overall rankings.
Rosanna Giel Ramos and Yanelis Santos Allegne scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Cubans to a 25–14 25–15 25–17 thrashing of the hosts. It was a morale-boosting win for the Caribbean side, which lost to Turkey the other day.
"I have to say that I am very satisfied with today’s performance, especially after yesterday’s loss. I think that good serves and determination of my team gave us the edge in this match. Cuba head coach Juan Gala Rodriguez said.
Argentina, meanwhile, should not be much of a threat as it has failed to secure a point in five matches. Yesterday, they lost to Turkey 15-25 20-25 25-21 15-25 and formally kissed their Final Round hopes goodbye.
Lucia Fresco was the lone bright spot for the South Americans, tallying 18 points.
"In the first three sets we’ve managed stay in the match, but in the fourth we surrendered because it is very complicated for us to play with the teams such as Turkey, or Italy or Brazil, who force very intense kind of game that is very difficult for us to follow," Argentina mentor Horacio Bastit said.
"Nevertheless, I am fairly satisfied with the effort of my team."
