Dominican Republic conquer their fourth crown in a row at CACG

CORDOBA, Mexico, November 20, 2014 - Dominican Republic claimed the crown at the XXII Central American and Caribbean Games after beating Puerto Rico in straight sets 25-19, 25-19 and 25-19. Dominican Republic won their fourth consecutive gold medal and increased their historical record to six regional championships, considering the ones conquered in 1946, 1962, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014.The Dominicans’ historical record also includes a silver medal in 1998 and four bronzes in 1966, 1974, 1978 and 1982, for a total of 11 podiums.

Bethania de la Cruz scored 14 points while Prisilla Rivera 13 and Annerys Vargas 10 for Dominican Republic. Aurea Cruz registered 17 points and Stephanie Enright 10 for Puerto Rico. The Dominican team dominated 15-4 in blocks. Aces were tied 2-2. Puerto Rico surrendered 21 points and Dominican Republic only 12.

“I’m very proud of my team. We did not get the result we wanted. I’d like that my girls had played with more intensity. Things didn’t go right tonight. However we must keep on working,” said José Mieles, coach of Puerto Rico.

“We always had that goal in mind. It was to work hard. This is a team of hard workers not a team of stars. If you want to get something, you have to work for that,” Marcos Kwiek, coach of Dominican Republic said.

“Dominican Republic is always a very competitive team. Very offensive. We knew that it was going to be tough for all of us. We are happy with the silver medal, but we must keep on going on to improve our performance,” Yarimar Rosa, captain of Puerto Rico stated.

“We are very happy for this . We achieved our goal that was to win this tournament and appreciate all the work done. Closing with a gold medal after the fifth place at the World Championship,” Bethania de la Cruz, captain of Dominican Republic remarked.