Brazil is the U23 Men’s Pan American Cup Champion

LANGLEY, Canada, September 30, 2012 – Brazil won the gold medal at Men’s U-23 Pan American Cup after defeating Argentina 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-18) on Sunday.

Henrique Batagim scored 16 points for Brazil, Leandro Santos contributed 9, including four blocks and libero Rogerio Carvalho was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Gonzalo Lapera finished with 10 for Argentina.

Brazil outblocked Argentina 9-3 and benefited from 27 unforced errors made by the defeated side to their own 16.

“I am very glad, but I still don’t know why Argentina’s captain (Gonzalo Quiroga) didn’t play,” Brazil’s captain Thiago Veloso said. “We won the gold medal, but are not finished yet as we must focus now on winning the South American World Championship qualification tournament.”

Quiroga said that he was not able to play, due to a muscle injury he sustained in the training camp and tour held by Argentina against Canada’s college teams previous to the U-23 Cup.

“Unfortunately I couldn’t make it, but at the same time the tournament helped us a lot as a team,” Quiroga said. “Just to see what we have to improve for the continental championship and now the next days will help us for a full recovery of injuries in the team.”

“Facing Argentina always create high expectations,” Brazil’s coach Leonardo Carvalho said. “I am happy for tonight’s victory, but now we have to prepare for the South American Championship. I want to thank to the people of Langley for hosting a great tournament which was also a great opportunity for the young players”.