2016 Olympics Rankings: #10 Cuba (Men)

The Cuba men's volleyball team clocks in at No. 10 in our 2016 Olympics Rankings.

Jul 27, 2016 by Megan Kaplon

By Bev Oden

The FloVolleyball Olympics Rankings will count down to the start of the indoor volleyball competition in Rio by highlighting one team per gender each day. Today, 10 days before the first serve, we profile the No. 10-ranked Cuba men and Argentina women.

COUNTRY: Cuba

TOP PLAYERS

Javier Ernesto Jimenez Scull, Opposite
Newly chosen captain, played in NORCECA and World League

Livan Osoria Rodriguez, Middle Blocker
Cuba's best blocker at World League

RISING STAR TO WATCH

Osniel Lazaro Melgarejo Hernandez | 18 | Outside Hitter
Logged significant playing time at World League and was the team's best receiver as well as one of the top hitters and diggers

SYNOPSIS

After a 16-year absence from the Olympic Games, it appeared that the Cuban program was on the upswing. They qualified for Rio with an inspired performance at NORCECA when they upset Canada in a three-set rout. Cuba entered World League's Group 2 competition with high hopes, but then everything fell apart both on the court and off. The Cubans finished ninth with a 3-6 record, and while in Finland for the third week of competition, the unthinkable happened. Six players, many of them key starters, were arrested in Tampere for aggravated rape. They will not participate in Rio. The Cuban federation fired the coaching staff as well, and by the looks of the new roster, it appears they raided the U23 squad to fill the bench.

PREDICTION

With such upheaval in the roster less than a month before the Olympics, it is hard to imagine any scenario in which the Cubans find success in Rio. Five players are under 20 years old, and there are a total of seven under 24. The few remaining experienced players on this cobbled-together squad will not be able to carry this team past the preliminary round against fine-tuned competitors.