The men’s team Cuban conquered this Saturday the gold of the Volleyball U-21 Pan American Cup, organized by the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean (NORCECA) by defeating the United States 3-2, in the Ciudad Deportiva coliseum.
Nicolás Vives’ disciples lost the first two sets with identical scores of 21-25, but they reacted in the remaining three and finished off with partial scores of 30-28, 25-15 and 15-11 in two hours and 16 minutes of action on the court, according to a report of the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
Congratulations ? to the U21 Men’s Pan Am Cup most outstanding players that ended in Havana, Cuba
Swipe to checkout the list! pic.twitter.com/mRsRXspkvS
— NorcecaInfo (@Norceca_Info) June 11, 2023
The Cubans got their second victory against the defending champions from the United States, whom they also beat 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 21-25 and 15-11) in the group stage for B, key in which they finished as leaders with three wins without setbacks, a balance to which is added the triumph of the semifinal, ACN points out.
“Playing against Cuba and in Cuba is very good and fun”
Opposite Alejandro Miguel González, who once again exhibited his leadership skills, was the top scorer with 26 points, and was very well supported on offense by corner players Bryan Camino (22) and José Ramón Gómez (10), and the center Jakdiel Contreras (10), while the other blocker, Alexis Wilson, added 8.
“From 2022 to this date, all the athletes have matured, before we were a little more dependent on a player, this time we all pulled evenly and they deserved prizes. We played like a real team,” he told Hit Alexander Michael. This medium described the meeting as sensational.
United States veteran coach Andy Read said, “We wanted to close the match in the third set, which we almost did because we were leading 2-0, but we didn’t. The fans were very supportive of their team in their victory. A close game was definitely expected and as it turned out anyone could win it. I am happy to see how my boys played and how they faced this tournament”.
Nyerovwome Omene, captain of the northerners, expressed that “playing against Cuba and in Cuba is always very good and very fun. We had the chance to play each other in the knockout group as well and we enjoyed both games. We are happy about it, even though we lost. Now we have to continue for the U-21 World Championship”, according to the NORCECA website.
Canada secures Bronze
This Saturday the bronze was also defined, a metal that Canada achieved, reiterating its position in the last edition of 2022, when it defeated Cuba, which then finished in fourth place, the event website notes.
The Canadians disposed of Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 21-25 and 25-16), while Nicaragua and Guatemala concluded in fifth and seventh places, beating the Dominican Republic 3-2 (27 -25, 18-25, 29-31, 25-22 and 25-23) and Haiti (25-21, 22-25, 14-25, 25-23 and 15-11), in that order.
The teams with their medals. Photo: norceca.net.
With the current version of the tournament, the qualification process began towards the 2025 Men’s Under-21 World Championship of the International Volleyball Federation, making it a mandatory eligibility requirement for the next phase, the Men’s Under-21 Norceca Continental Championship in 2024.
Another win of the day, but in the League of Nations
On the same day, the Cuban team defeated Brazil in five sets in their last game in the first week of group one of the 2023 Volleyball Nations League, which took place in Ottawa, Canada.
The Cubans won their first challenge at this venue with scores of 25-16, 22-25, 27-29, 25-22 and 20-18.
According to Hitnext Monday they return to Havana and leave on June 17 for Orleans, France, where they will face locals, Japan, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
Cuba loses to Canada in the opening of the Volleyball Nations League
Upon their return, they will participate in the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador 2023, to later complete their third week in the League of Nations in Anaheim, United States. There they will have net in between the hosts, Serbia, Germany and Iran.
