Brazil rises to Canadian challenge at the U21 Pan Am Cup
FORT MCMURRAY, ALBERTA, CANADA: Canada experienced its first
loss against powerhouse Brazil Thursday night at the U21 Pan
American Cup at the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre at Keyano
College in Fort McMurray.
Canada was shaky at the start, but showed promise in a solid
second set, only to eventually fall to the South Americans 1-3
(17-25, 25-21, 20-25, 14-25) to wrap up the group play today.
Nery Tambeiro
Jr, Brazil’s coach, was satisfied with the match, and respectful
of his opponent: “It was a very good game. We played strong and
took advantage of our height. We were worried the whole game,
and not only after losing the second set. Canada is a good team
and I don’t think tonight’s lost is a big problem for them
because I’m sure that if we face each other again during the
finals, it will be a total different game.”
Henrique Honorato was Brazil’s top scorer with 18, but again is
was a solid effort by the whole roster.
“We told our guys this morning that Brazil was going to come out
strong. But it doesn’t matter what we say, they are young and
inexperienced. It happened last year against Cuba. We all know
that Brazil is one of the top volleyball countries and have more
experience together than us,” said Canada’s head coach Gino
Brousseau.
“We are disappointed and the last set, but tomorrow is another
day. We have to get ready for Chile. My players fought and they
did well, especially in the second set. We are on a good track.”
Eric Loeppky was Canada’s top scorer with 20, followed by
Sharone Vernon-Evans with 11, including three aces.
Brazil has qualified for the U21 World Championships as the top
South American country at this tournament. Canada still has some
work to do if they are to win the NORCECA berth to the Worlds.
May 16 (local time)
12:00 Cuba v Chile 3-0
18:00 Brazil v Barbados 3-0
20:00 Canada v Guatemala 3-0
May 17
16:00 Chile v Puerto Rico 1-3
18:00 Guatemala v Brazil 0-3
20:00 Canada v Barbados 3-0
May 18
16:00 Puerto Rico v Cuba 0-3
18:00 Barbados v Guatemala 1-3
20:00 Canada v Brazil 1-3
Finals rounds on May 19-21 |