Cuba finds its rhythm against Puerto Rico

GATINEAU, Canada, August 18, 2010 - Cuban coach Roberto Garcia admitted his team got the wake-up call it needed in the first set as his squad defeated a very talented Puerto Rico team 23-25, 27-25, 25-21, 25-14 on Wednesday at the NORCECA men’s junior volleyball championships.

With the victory Cuba wins pool B with a 3-0 record and Puerto finishes second at 2-1.  But clubs advance to the playoffs.

“The players didn’t follow the game plan in the first set,” said Garcia.  “But we got it sorted out in the second set and we were able to follow our own game and we never looked back again.”

Lazaro Fundora Travieso led Cuban scoring with 18 points, Zamy Gomez Fernandez added 16 and team captain Jorge Carlos Rojas Taylor 13.

“We made tons of mistakes early on,” said Taylor.  “But we improved and we attained our goal of playing better in each match.”

For Puerto Rico, leading scorers were Ricardo Archilla with 21 and Jorge Antonio Lopez with 17.

“We started very confident,” said Puerto Rico’s captain Ramon Burgos.  “Unfortunately our level wasn’t that high the whole game.  But with that first set win we showed they are not unbeatable and that gives us confidence.”