Belize Returns to a Central American Games

Semifinal After 28 Years

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, October 19, 2025.– Belize defeated El Salvador 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-18), securing the last semifinal berth in the men’s volleyball tournament of the 12th Central American Games Guatemala 2025.

Belize returns to a Central American Games semifinal for the first time since 1997, the year they won their only medal in the history of the event (bronze).

With a 2-1 record, Belize finished second in Pool B and will face Nicaragua in the semifinals. El Salvador (1-2), third in the pool, will play for positions 5/7 against Guatemala.

El Salvador took the first set after recovering from a four-point deficit (6-10), led by Abner Cano and Rodrigo Chávez, who managed to contain the attacks of Francis Hauze and Karym Coleman.

Belize leveled the match in the second set under the leadership of Kaelen Ingram, with Eleazar Mejía sealing the set with a powerful spike. The Belizeans dominated the third set by a wide margin and closed the match in the fourth with strong blocking from Kyron Sutherland and effective serving from Mejía and Ingram.

Statistics showed Belize’s superiority in attack (58-52), blocking (11-10), and especially in service (7-0). Belize committed 18 unforced errors to El Salvador’s 22.

Kaelen Ingram and Francis Hauze stood out for Belize with 22 and 21 points respectively. For El Salvador, Abner Cano led all scorers with 23 points, while Rodrigo Chávez added 15.

Albert Humes, head coach of Belize said about the win “To see both Belize teams going to the honor round is very important for a country and it’s a boost for our program. El Salvador always has given us problems but today we prevailed. The guys really worked hard and wanted this victory for the country”.

Kaelen Ingram, leading scorer of Belize expressed “We played with passion. We had all the energy on our side. We trusted each other and the passion just overflowed on the court. We executed well today”.