Costa Rica Edges Barbados in Five Sets to Claim Fifth Place 

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, November 23, 2025.– Costa Rica defeated Barbados 3-2 (25-17, 16-25, 25-27, 25-13, 15-13) to secure fifth place at the NORCECA U17 Boys’ Continental Championship. 

Both teams battled intensely to close the tournament in a better position. Barbados showed strength at the net with effective blocking, while Costa Rica focused on applying pressure from the service line to disrupt the opponent’s reception and limit their offensive rhythm. 

After Costa Rica dominated the fourth set, the tie-break came down to the finer details. With the score tied at 13-13, two consecutive errors from Barbados, one on the block and another on attack, opened the door for Costa Rica to seal the victory. 

Barbados finished with superior numbers in attacks (59-54) and blocks (12-9), while Costa Rica held the edge in aces (5-4). The Costa Ricans committed 27 errors, compared to 31 from Barbados. 

Kenneth Quirós led Costa Rica’s scoring with 17 points, followed by Braulio Alvarado with 15 and Ignacio Alpízar with 14. For Barbados, John Isaiah tallied 18 points, Piere Gill contributed 17, and Joshua Ashby added 13. 

Ignacio Alpízar, one of Costa Rica’s most consistent players throughout the tournament, said: “This is my first experience with the national team, and thank God we were able to achieve this fifth place. We wanted fourth, but we didn’t get that match against Cuba. During the week we set this goal for ourselves, and we fought hard to get here.” 

He added, “I’m very happy with my performance. In the first match I wasn’t at my best, but in training I gave everything every day, and I think that helped me improve my stats, both in blocking and attacking.”