Colombia Remains Unbeaten with Second

Straight Five-Set Victory

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 26, 2026. – Colombia remained unbeaten in the men's volleyball tournament at the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026, defeating host Dominican Republic 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-11) in another thrilling five-set battle in Pool B.

It was Colombia's second consecutive five-set victory, improving its record to 2-0 atop the pool standings. Colombia will close the preliminary round against Suriname (0-2), while the Dominican Republic (1-1) faces Mexico (1-1).

The match delivered excitement from start to finish, featuring momentum swings and a vibrant atmosphere inside the Professor Ricardo Gioriver Arias Volleyball Palace. After splitting the first four sets, both teams headed into a decisive fifth set following more than two hours of intense competition.

In the fourth set, the Dominican Republic mounted an impressive comeback after trailing by seven points (13-20), cutting the deficit to 22-19. Colombia, however, stayed composed and capitalized on two consecutive Dominican errors to force the tiebreak.

The home team rallied once again in the deciding set. Sparked by Adrián Figueroa, the Dominicans erased an early deficit to tie the score at 6-6, but Colombia responded immediately behind the powerful offense of Miguel Ángel Martínez "Amaranto," who delivered the key points to secure the victory.

Although the Dominican Republic held a slight advantage in attacks (62-57), Colombia proved superior in blocking (13-7), edged its opponent in aces (2-1), and committed fewer unforced errors (30-32), key factors in the hard-fought win.

Miguel Ángel Martínez "Amaranto" led all scorers with 30 points. Leandro Mejía added 14 points, while Juan Felipe Castañeda finished with 13 for Colombia.

For the Dominican Republic, Alexis Cruz paced the offense with 17 points, followed by Adrián Figueroa with 12 and Wilfrido Hernández with 11.

Colombia's head coach, Paolo Montagnani, praised his team's resilience after the match.

“We are a team that never stops fighting; these players are warriors. It was a fantastic victory because we didn't have much energy after yesterday's match, which also went to five sets. I'm very proud because the players who came off the bench changed the match. The Dominican Republic is a team with tremendous attacking power and great heart. Our blocking was very good at certain stages of the match, but not throughout. I also didn't like that we relied too much on one player, our opposite, Amaranto. He's an exceptional player, but no team can depend on just one player. We'll get a few hours of sleep and then focus on Suriname."

Dominican Republic captain Henry Tapia pointed to his team's mistakes as the difference.

"Our objective was to win the match, but it became difficult because of our serving and attacking errors. Those mistakes really hurt us. Tomorrow is another opponent, and we hope to reduce those errors."