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A great battle for the gold is expected in David
DAVID, Chiriquí, Panama, September 23, 2023 – Seven national teams eager
to claim the gold medal have gathered in this city to compete in the VI
AFECAVOL Men’s Under-23 Central American Championship, to be held at La
Basita Sports Center.
All the delegations have submitted their documents meeting the
requirements of the Control Committee, chaired by Mr. Carlos Enrique
Santis, General Secretary of AFECAVOL. They are ready to fight “point by
point” to step onto the podium, as their coaches have indicated.
AFECAVOL SUB23 MASCULINO, PANAMÁ
Albert Humes, coach of Belize: “Our expectations are high. Belize is
knocking on the door of greatness, of being number one in Central
America. Our expectation is to come here and give our best and make our
country proud. In fact, we have a fairly young team. We have young
players as young as 16, even one who is 15, so most of our players are
under 21, some can play in the U19 team and the U17 team. So, we still
have a good progression of players for the future greatness of our
country”.
Johan Morales, coach of Costa Rica: “We come here with a happy group,
very united. We have been working for quite some time, and I believe
this is the team I have been able to work with the most because of the
time with the boys. We come with young players with a lot of talent and
hunger to bring Costa Rica its first gold medal in this category. That’s
the goal, to go step by step and steadily. At this age, concentration is
crucial, and in the men’s competition, it’s very close, respecting all
the opponents, as seen in the Senior Central American Championship”.
Andrea Genova, coach of El Salvador: “We expect to perform well. Our
team is not bad; we can fight for a spot on the podium and see if we can
get a medal in the competition. We know that everyone has the same goal;
it’s a fairly even competition, but some teams stand out more. We will
go point by point in each game. It’s the last youth tournament before
reaching the senior level, and several athletes are already in the
senior national team, which is why the level is very high”.
Reider Lucas, coach of Guatemala: “We want to progress through the
event. We know it’s very important because many athletes are part of the
senior national teams, and it’s a tournament with a high level in the
region. We want our boys to enjoy the competition, continue to develop,
and try to achieve the goal match by match, fighting point by point, and
having a good competition”.
José Reyes, coach of Honduras: “We have a generation that has had a lot
of experience in U19 and U23 tournaments, along with the addition of new
young players that we have started to form, with the aspiration of
reaching the senior national team. We are happy; we have a renewed group
with the desire to do things well, everyone is ready, including the
coaching staff, to perform well”.
Jorge Mena, coach of Nicaragua: “We know it’s a tough tournament, and we
will try to do our best, but we know that all the teams are strong, and
a great tournament awaits us, of a high level. We know our rivals and
the level of some countries like Guatemala or Costa Rica, but we are
going game by game to see how we can land on the podium and then change
the medal, but above all, give our best in each match”.
Eric Lucero, coach of Panama: “We have high expectations, aiming for the
podium, as we did years ago. A very good job has been done in forming
the national team; we have athletes with good experience in the younger
categories. In the U21 category, we managed to get on the podium with a
silver medal. We have realized that all the countries in the region are
working hard. Volleyball has grown, we have all grown, and we are aiming
for the highest level”.
First day, Sunday, September 24
2:00 PM Costa Rica vs. Belize
4:30 PM El Salvador vs. Nicaragua
7:00 PM Opening Ceremony
7:30 PM Panama vs. Honduras |
