Cuba dominates Nicaragua

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 31, 2014 – Led by opposite Osniel Rendon, Cuba beat 3-0 Nicaragua 25-6, 25-11, 25-10 to secure first place in Pool C at NORCECA Men’s U21 Continental Championship.

Rendon scored 15 points leading Cuba’s offense that included 34 spikes, eight blocks and eight aces. Nicaragua couldn’t play against the tall and talented Cuba. Roberto Espinoza got six points for Nicaragua.

Cuba (3-0) secured one of the two spots in the semifinals with a better point-ratio (1.710) than Barbados (1.120), who is idle on Thursday and finished with a 2-0 record in Pool A.

Quotes

Ricardo Calvo, Cuba’s Captain: "We knew it wouldn’t be complicated and we went with a lot of confidence. Some changes were made. We played well and ended as expected.”

Pavel Pimienta, Coach of Cuba: "I think we met the goal of finishing first in the group and go directly to the semifinals. With the difference of points I think we will rest tomorrow and play the semifinals on Saturday. We made a few mistakes, but we should not commit those in this game."

Bryan Orozco, Nicaragua’s Captain: “We were in a tough group and our goal was to get the experience and improve. What I learned here I hope to take it with me to Nicaragua and be better in the next tournament.”

Osman Hernández, Nicaragua’s Coach: “The important thing is that the players got the experience and tried to improve. Six players from this group will go to the Central American U23 Championship and hope they raise the level.”