Iranian players celebrate after their first win in the tournament on Thursday
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 11, 2016 – Iran played with consistency and continuity in the straight-set victory against Cuba, which pleased the veteran coach Raul Lozano.
On the other hand, Cuban captain Javier Jimenez couldn’t find words to explain the reasons his team could not keep the same level in the one-sided third set.
Raul Lozano, Coach of Iran: Our team has played at the same level we did against Poland, very similar. The only difference was that the other match was against Poland and this one against a young Cuban team. I liked our consistency and continuity. I was pleased with our first set and part of the second set. In the third set we were able to cover from the Cuban attack.'
On the Iranian fans in the stands:
Players felt good about and I feel also glad for the fans back in Iran who must be very happy with this victory.
Nicolas Vives, Coach of Cuba: Iran is a team of very high level and I am satisfied with our overall performance today. We made some mistakes but the group is improving and giving their best effort, which is important. We will continue playing hard and giving all we have on the playing court.