Tight Battle in Men’s at Chiapas Beach

PUERTO ARISTA, Chiapas, May 18, 2012 - On the first day of competition, the men’s double elimination system allowed several teams the opportunity to keep their hopes high for advancing.  Mexico-3 and Aruba-2 are the only teams to have been eliminated, so far.

The Canadian teams, competing in the losing bracket, overcame all obstacles and are set to contend along with the United States, Cuba, and Mexico 1 during the next phase.  Mexico 1 won the title last year.

Just like in the women’s division, most of the matches were defined in two sets with only two confrontations on this first day going into a third set.

The Dominican Republic is looking like a possible winner after scoring two victories, one of them over Canada-2, making the islander team a medal contender.

The people of Chiapas showed their support for the event on the first day of competition in Puerto Arista as close to 600 spectators were in attendance, which is a higher number than last year on a Friday.  As such, on Saturday and Sunday, a full house is expected just like it has been for the two previous years.

In addition, the level of volleyball being played this time around serves as a forecast for a very tight final phase in both divisions.  So far, a clear title winning favorite is yet to emerge.

Men’s Results of Friday: CAN 2 d. MÉX-2 (21-19, 21-19), MÉX-3 d. ARU-2 (21--12, 17-21, 15-10), MÉX-1 d. GUA (25-23, 21-14), ARU-1 d. GRN (21-7, 21-14), CUB d. CAN-1 (21-18, 21-19), ISV d. VIN (21-12, 21-15), USA d. MÉX- 3 (21-10, 21-11), TRI d. CRC (21-17, 21-19), LCA d. HON (21-12, 17-21, 15-7), USA d. IVS (21-14, 21-8), DOM d. CAN (21-17, 21-16), CUB d. ARU 1 (21-11, 21-5), MÉX-1 d. TRI (21-9, 21-10), CAN-2 d. ARU-2 (21-8, 21-15), DOM d. LCA (21-19, 21-14), MÉX-2 d. MÉX-3 (21-15, 21-13).