Cuba dominates Antigua and Barbuda in Pan American Cup debut

LEÓN, Guanajuato, August 26, 2025.– Cuba opened the Men’s Senior Pan American Volleyball Cup with a strong performance, defeating Antigua and Barbuda 3-0 (25-19, 25-10, 25-12) on the first day of Pool A action at the Domo de la Feria in León.

The match was quick paced, with the Cubans showing absolute dominance in all aspects of the game, sealing the victory in just 49 minutes.

Cuba controlled the fundamentals in attack (41-15), blocking (6-2), and serving (11-2). Antigua and Barbuda committed fewer errors than Cuba (17 to 27) but could not counter the power of their opponents.

To close the match, the Cubans needed four match points, after a service error and two consecutive reception mistakes following powerful attacks from Cairon Davis briefly extended the finish.

Cuba’s top scorers were Víctor Andreu and Endriel Pedroso with 11 points each, while Davis led Antigua and Barbuda with 6 points.

Cuba (1-0) will face Venezuela (1-0) in their next match, while Antigua and Barbuda (0-1) will meet the United States (0-1).

Cuban captain Víctor Andreu said: “We came from a long trip, arriving just last night, so starting with a match that didn’t demand much from us was good, because we are still uncoordinated and making many mistakes. We don’t underestimate any opponent; the ending was exciting for both teams. This match worked as a good practice for us ahead of tougher challenges, like Venezuela and the United States.”

Erwin Mathurin, captain of Antigua and Barbuda said: “For us, coming from a small island in such a big tournament is absolutely incredible. Maybe we anticipated a little bit more from ourselves in this match, but we enjoyed it. We hope to do better going into the other games”.