Panama finishes fifth in women at Managua 2017

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, December 16, 2017.- Panama defeated Belize 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-15, 19-25, 15-8) on the last day of the women’s Volleyball tournament of the eleventh Central American Games Managua 2017 to finish in fifth place.

Panama and Belize engaged in a mechanical game with points going both ways, developing in one set for each team at a time. Panama’s victory earned them the fifth place of the event with 2-4 record and 10 points; while Belize finishes with 0-6 record and 5 points.

The final stats were even, with 46-43 advantage in kills for Panama, while Belize held 10-9 margin in both blocking and service categories. In errors, Panama finished with 32 and Belize with 40.

Both teams used a balance offense. Panama was led by Hashyn Cuero (18), Angela Evans (14) and Maria Gallimore (12).  Belize top scorers were Nelissa Ramirez (15), Shantell Arnold (14) and Sherika Burton (14).

Captain of Panama Joanna Arroyo: “I must congratulate Belize, their progress is significant, they put up good fights against every team here; today they were determined to beat us. About our overall performance in the tournament I can say that we battled strong against the toughest teams but we lost focus. With more support from our Federation and with our physical conditions, we can finish in the first places”.

Captain of Belize Karen Quan: “It feels good that we gave them a tough rally and game, but it also feels bad because we weren’t able to win. Yes we have improved but we didn’t accomplish any victories, we came short in the past two games, we need to prepare more in every volleyball skill”.