Cuba advances to NORCECA Championship semis

MONCTON, Canada, September 14, 2026: Cuba will advance to the semifinals of the NORCECA Men’s Championship at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Today, they beat rivals Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-14) in the quarterfinals.

Although Puerto Rico stayed within reach in the first two sets, overall Cuba gained more points from attacks (40-37), blocks (8-6) and aces (6-2).  Puerto Rico also made more errors (21-13).

Cuba’s opposite Alejandro González Rodríguez led scoring with 15 points (12 attack points, 2 blocks and an ace).

Jair Santiago Sánchez topped the scoresheet for Puerto Rico with 11 points.

Eight teams are in Moncton, Canada, for the 2026 NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship, where three berths to the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland will be at stake. The tournament will also determine the teams that advance to NORCECA’s final qualification stage (Sept. 18 and 19) that will earn one team a berth to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. USA is already qualified as host of the LA 28 Games.

Jesús Cruz López, Cuba’s head coach, said post-match: “It was a difficult game. Puerto Rico was a medal winner at the Central American Games and they came here with a lot of confidence against us. But we took the victory, which is the most important factor as we are now in the top four and have the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup and Olympics.”

Cuba will play host Canada in the semis tomorrow.