Cuba achieves straight sets victory over Dominican Republic

Guadalajara, August 18, 2023.- Cuba contained the pressure of Dominican Republic to beat them in 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-22) in the second game of classification matches for positions 7-10 in the XVI Men's Pan American Cup of Volleyball.

It was the first win in the tournament for Cuba who now will face Peru, who defeated Puerto Rico 3-2, to define the seventh place in the event.

The Cubans led the attack 41-35 and were better in blocking 9-3; On serve, the Dominican Republic achieved 3 aces, but gave up 25 points due to unforced errors while Cuba finished with 28.

Best scorers for Cuba were Alejandro González with 16 points, Angel Suarez with 14 and Jakdiel Contreras with 10 while for the Dominican Republic Henry Tapia stood out with 15 points and Hector Cruz with 11.

Mario Izquierdo, coach of Cuba: “Thanks to the efforts of the boys, to God and to what we had proposed, the first victory came with the boys behaving at a good level. We will always continue improving for some mistakes since this group was gathered with the objective of giving players, who are being evaluated in Cuba, an opportunity and to add experience. We have the NORCECA championship and the pre-Olympic soon and we are here to fulfill and work”.

Adrian Chirino, captain of Cuba: “Today we went out looking for our first victory against a team from the Dominican Republic that has good players, and it was achieved based on a united and happy game. As the tournament advances, we are gaining more experience and as we say in Cuba “getting into the box” to achieve victory”.