【Repaired】1996 🇨🇳 China vs Cuba 🇨🇺 🏐 Women Volleyball 🏐 FIVB World Grand Prix

[Repaired Details] : 1st & 2nd set missing parts added back. The 1996 FIVB World Grand Prix was the fourth women's volleyball tournament of its kind. It was held over four weeks in eight cities throughout Asia, cumulating with the final round in Shanghai, PR China, from 27 to 29 September 1996. Eight teams including Brazil, Cuba, China, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea and the USA competed. This tournament took place a few weeks after the Olympics. Cuba won gold, China silver and Brazil bronze. The USA, the 1995 champions, also participated. Four preliminary weeks followed, and the top three ranked teams including China advanced to the Shanghai final round. Each team played a total of 12 matches during the preliminary round. Post-Match Commentary : I initially uploaded this match back in 2023 but some parts were missing. I’ve since repaired it from a different source thanks to Hsu for providing the missing pieces. The missing section begins in the first set where Cuba led China 13-8. However, in the second set, China took the lead 6-3. China ultimately won the first set 15-13 with a straight run from 8 to 15. For years, I’ve been puzzled by what happened between 13-8 and 13-15. Between 13-8 and 13-15, Cuba committed three errors. China’s blocking was exceptional even with #8 Bell and #10 Torres in the front court. Furthermore, #11 Sun Yue (23, 1.86m) had a success rate exceeding 50% in this game. This allowed China to close the set 1 without much pressure. China replaced #5 Wu Yongmei (21, 1.85m) in their lineup with #6 Wang Yi (23, 1.89m). The rest of the players remained the same as they had in the Olympics. In the third set, Cuba’s #1 Ruiz (18, 1.76m) took the court to replace #5 Gato (25, 1.78m). This marked the beginning of her journey with the Cuban squad until 2008. Cuba’s focus seemed to wane during the World Grand Prix, as they lost their drive to win after falling behind. However, the third set with Ruiz on court created a tense atmosphere, with Cuba securing eight consecutive points between 4:14 and 12:14. It’s worth noting that China had faced Cuba nine times between 1996 and 2000, with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss. This particular match was China’s only victory. Their next win against Cuba came at the 2001 World Grand Prix, after Cuba’s dominance had ended. This match was a gift for all Chinese fans.