Colombia advances to semifinals, beats Dominican Republic in five

MONTERREY, Mexico, March 23, 2017 – Colombia advanced to the semifinals of the U19 Boys´ Pan American Cup after defeating Dominican Republic in five sets by scores of 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 20-25 and 15-12 in 2 hours and 24 minutes of game time.

Colombian captain Raul Rivas scored 15 points and Oliver Murillo 11. Bayron Valdez Pena scored 41 points and Frantony Segura registered 18 for Dominican Republic, that recovered after a 2-0 deficit to force a tie-breaker, however Colombian adjustements in the fifth gave the South Americans the chance to advance to next round and contend for a World Championship ticket.

Captain of Colombia, Raul Rivas: “First of all, thanks God we won. It was not easy today. We were winning 2-0. They tied 2-2 and in the fifth we could keep the rhythm and left everything on the court.”

Setter of Colombia, Jorge Mesa: “This was really a very tough match. We are all happy. Dominicans played at their best, but thanks God we could make it in the last set.”

Captain of Dominican Republic, Adalberto González: “In the last set we were out of control. We lost concentration. In the third and fourth we were focused. The fifth one just escaped from our hands. We had two red cards and after a 7-10 deficit it was difficult to recover.”

Coach of Dominican Republic, Loren Rodriguez: “It was very tough. We could make a great thing but there were some situations that we weren’t waiting. Two technical calls by the referees that made a difference just in the tie-breaker.”