Coaches optimistic before the start of NORCECA Men’s
Championship
WINNIPEG, Canada, September 1, 2019 – The coaches of the
teams participating in the NORCECA Men’s Continental
Championship pronounced their teams ready for the
competition and optimistic about their chances of a
top-three finish here.
The tournament grants three tickets to the NORCECA Final
Four Olympic Qualification Tournament to be held next
January. Cuba is already qualified as winner of the
Champions Cup last week in Colorado Springs and United
States earned an Olympic berth as winner of one of the six
world Olympic qualifiers.
Puerto Rico, head coach, Oswald Antonetti:
“We have a pretty important match against Mexico on the
first day; that will define the rhythm of the tournament for
us. We brought our main group to this tournament and
hopefully we will compete – we will take it day by day. We
want to qualify for the Olympic qualifier, that’s our goal
here.”
Dominican Republic, head coach, Jose Alexander Gutierrez:
“For us, it’s very important to be here. Our team is very
young – the average age is 21 years old. This is a chance
for us to prepare for the next Olympic cycle. We are here
to grow, to get experience and if we got a shot at the
qualifier that will also be very good, but that’s not our
main goal. Tokyo 2020 is not realistic for us; we are
looking ahead.”
USA, head coach, John Hawks:
“Our expectation is to be here and play our best volleyball,
and hopefully come out winning. We have a younger group of
guys who are looking for a great opportunity to compete in
the World Cup coming up, and also looking to make an impact
going into the 2020 Olympic Games.”
Mexico head coach, Jorge Miguel Azair Lopez:
“Our first goal is to qualify to the Olympic qualifier in
January. We are well prepared – we played at the Pan Am
Games and the FIVB Olympic qualifier in Russia. I think
these tournaments prepared us well for this event in
Canada.”
Canada head coach, Glenn Hoag:
“I think it’s a good competition for us. It’s important as
it’s a step to the main qualifier in January. Our main
focus is to qualify for the Olympics, and we’re at home so
we like to perform well. Our team is ready with no major
injuries. We are aiming to win.”
Guatemala head coach, Reider Lucas Mora:
“This competition is really important for us because we have
a chance to play against teams that are at a very high level
of skill. And our main goal is to have a good tournament,
which will help our players improve overall in the level of
their game.”
Cuba head coach Yosvany Muñoz Perez:
“In this tournament we want to fight for first place. It’s
always our main objective – to win. Canada is a good team
and they brought their top players, but we will try to
defeat them as well as the other teams in the competition.
“
