Coaches prepared for Qualification battle ahead

 

VANCOUVER, Canada, January 9, 2020: With the NORCECA Men’s Tokyo Qualification Tournament set to begin, all teams are ready to battle for a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The tournament is January 10 to 12 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia.

 

Head Coach, Cuba. Nicolas Ernesto Vives Coffigny: “We know it will be a hard tournament, but we hope to qualify for the Olympic Games. Our first match tomorrow will help us prepare for our second match against Canada.”

 

Team Canada Head Coach, Glenn Hoag: “Our team is much healthier than they were at the qualifier in Edmonton 2016. We were really banged up four years ago in that same situation, but the team is much healthier and we have players who have been competing really well with their clubs. They’re used to this level of intensity and pressure so I think everybody is ready.”

 

Head Coach, Puerto Rico, Oswald Antonetti: “The culture of every player playing overseas, it is very symbolic for them to come back and join the team for the last run of the cycle. We’re prepared and the players are looking fresher than at the end of the summer… Our perception is it’s an everyday, every play thing. It could be overwhelming to think about winning a couple of games to qualify. For us, it’s a matter of getting better and catching that first set against Cuba.”

 

Head Coach, Mexico,Jorge Miguel Azair Lopez: “We hope to qualify for the Olympic Games in this tournament. We know that the teams are strong so we have worked hard, and we want to qualify. For tomorrow, Canada has a tall block so we need to work on our service. Our service will be very important for us.”