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Abu Dhabi: Holland and Cuba appear to be on their way to the final of the Abu Dhabi International Women Volleyball Championshi after topping the two groups of the tournament in style, having won all four encounters and collected a maximum eight points.
Holland, in Group A, defeated Algeria 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-14), leaving second place to Italy, who beat Australia 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-19) to collect seven points. They were followed by Algeria with six points, Egypt on five and Australia with four.
Cuba, like the Dutch, lost only two games in four matches. Germany came secodn in the group with seven points, followed by Russia on six, Azerbaijan on five and France on four. Winning teams were awarded two points and the losers one.
In the semifinals Holland will face Germany and Cuba will play Italy.
And judging the four teams' performance in the preliminary round, the Dutch and the Cubans are favourites to reach the final match of the $1 million championship.
'Best team'
"Cuba is the best team in the competition." Avital Selinger, the coach of Holland, told Gulf News.
"I hope I will not face them before the final match."
Meanwhile, Antonio Esrella, his counterpart for Cuba, praised the Dutch: "They have good players and are well prepared for the tournament. If we met them in the final it would be an interesting encounter."
While the semifinalist will contest the top fours spots, Russia have gained fifth place, followed by Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, France and Australia.
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