Colombia Stuns Defending Champion Cuba to Reach the Final

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 29, 2026. – Colombia delivered one of the biggest upsets of the men's volleyball tournament at the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026, eliminating defending champion Cuba with a dramatic 3-2 (25-27, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19, 15-12) semifinal victory.

Colombia will face Puerto Rico for the gold medal, seeking the first Central American and Caribbean Games title in the nation's history. It will be only Colombia's second men's volleyball medal at the Games, following the silver medal won as host in Barranquilla 2018, where it fell to Puerto Rico in the final.

Cuba, meanwhile, will meet Mexico in the bronze medal match. The Cubans will be aiming for their fifth bronze medal in Games history. The two teams will renew the bronze medal showdown from Barranquilla 2018, won by Mexico in five sets, while Cuba also defeated Mexico for bronze at Veracruz 2014.

The semifinal was a true roller coaster. Cuba edged a tightly contested opening set and regained the lead by taking the third, but Colombia answered both times with commanding performances in the second and fourth sets to force a deciding fifth. In the tiebreak, the Colombians took control at the crucial moments and held off Cuba's late push to secure a historic place in the final.

Colombia made the difference at the net, outblocking Cuba 15-12, including a match-high six blocks by Leandro Mejía, and capitalized on 38 Cuban unforced errors while committing 31 of its own. Cuba held a narrow edge in attacks (53-52) and led in service points (6-2) but could not overcome Colombia's collective play in the decisive moments.

Miguel Ángel Martínez "Amaranto" led Colombia with 18 points, followed by Leandro Mejía "Ararat" with 14, Heider Banguera with 11, and Juan Castañeda with 10.

Cuba's Marlon Yant finished as the match's top scorer with 24 points. Miguel Ángel López and Daniel Martínez added 13 points each, while Roamy Alonso contributed 10.

Colombian libero Roosvuelt Ramos praised his team's determination:

“It was a dramatic five-set match. Colombia is a team that doesn't have the international experience of others, and we came in without any practice matches, but we had the desire to do things well and overcome the odds. I'm grateful to our coach, Paolo, for believing in us. Just reaching the semifinals already made us feel proud. It has been a very demanding tournament—we've played more than ten sets, and not every team can handle that. Our physical preparation has been excellent, and we're very happy to reach the final.”