|
RENO, USA (Aug. 17, 2015)
– Brazil lost its first set of the tournament, but came away
with the victory and gold medal at the Pan American Cup on
Monday at the Reno Events Center.
Brazil defeated Argentina, 22-25, 35-33, 25-17, 25-21 to finish
the tournament 5-0 and 15-1 in sets. Brazil got a measure of
revenge for its loss to Argentina at the Pan American Games.
Argentina finished 4-1. Brazil opposite Alan Souza was named the
tournament MVP.
Argentina’s first-set win was Brazil’s first set loss of the
tournament. Argentina held a 23-21 lead in the second set before
Brazil used a 3-0 run to reach set point. Argentina’s Federicio
Martina fought it off with a spike and the battle began. Before
the set was over, each team held set point five times. At 33-33,
Brazil’s Leandro Santos scored on an attack and Argentina
knocked its next attack out of bounds.
The loss seemed to deflate Argentina and it never posed a threat
in the next two sets.
Argentina led in attacks (62-61) while Brazil dominated the
blocking (13-4). Each team had one ace. Brazil’s hitting
efficiency was .354 and Argentina’s .251. Brazil scored 32
points on Argentina’s errors while committing 29.
Souza led the scoring with 24 points on a match-high 17 spikes
and a match-high seven blocks. Outside hitter Carlos Barreto
added 15 points on 13 attacks, one block and one ace.
Middle blocker Facundo Imhoff paced Argentina with 17 points on
14 spikes, two blocks and one ace. Middle blocker Pablo Guzman
followed up with 14 points on 12 spikes and two blocks.
Argentina captain Demian Gonzalez
"It leaves a bad taste in our mouth. We wanted to win the event.
We knew Brazil was the toughest team. We started off well, the
second set we should've won and that made the difference. Third
and fourth sets they sped away. We're very happy that we played
well but you always want to win."
Brazil head coach Roberley Leonaldo
"Today we did a good job blocking. It helped us to control the
great attack of Argentina. Our reception was good the whole
match and all of our guys contributed in the attack. It was a
good match."
Brazil captain Thiago Veloso
"I think it's always hard to play against Argentina. They dig a
lot and don't make mistakes. It was a very good test for us. We
are very happy and we did a great job here." |
