Costa Rica Powers into Semifinals of VII

AFECAVOL U23 Central American Championship

CHIRIQUÍ, Panama, September 17, 2025. – Costa Rica secured the second semifinal spot from Pool B after comfortably defeating Honduras 3-0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-15), earning their second straight victory without dropping a set at the VII AFECAVOL U23 Men’s Central American Championship.

Costa Rica and Nicaragua will now face off in the final match of pool play to determine the top spot in Pool B, with both teams entering the matchup undefeated at 2-0.

Honduras, meanwhile, suffered its second loss of the tournament and, along with El Salvador, remains winless in Pool B. In the closing match of pool play, Honduras and El Salvador will battle for third place in the group, a position that will provide better chances heading into the classification round, where the final rankings will be decided.

Against Honduras, Costa Rica was dominant, leading in attacks 48-16, blocks 7-2, and service points 7-0, although they committed 21 unforced errors compared to 13 by Honduras.

For Costa Rica, Stanley Grant led the scoring with 21 points, followed by Yulius Brown and Ignacio Sánchez with 11 points apiece. For Honduras, Jesús Montes was the only player to reach double figures, finishing with 10 points.

After the victory, Costa Rica’s captain Jeremy Vanega said, “I feel blessed with my team and especially with the coaching staff, who guide us on what we need to do in each match. We have worked hard on every aspect of the game: reception, attack, and blocking, and that is reflected on the court. We close pool play against Nicaragua, and we will not underestimate anyone. We approach every match from zero, with the best attitude and full respect for the opponent.”

Meanwhile, Honduras’ captain Héctor Duarte stated, “Costa Rica was a much stronger team in this match. The truth is that with a better attitude we could have aimed for a better result, but it didn’t happen. Now we only have the match against El Salvador left in pool play, and we will give our best effort there to keep our chances of fighting for fifth place alive.”