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TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 14, 2022.- Cuba
scored their fourth victory in a row after
defeating Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-20,
25-20) at the NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup
at the Amado Nervo Auditorium in Tepic, Nayarit.
Cuba with a 4-0 record will finish the
preliminary round in first place even if they
fall to Mexico on Friday. Puerto Rico with a 2-2
record will end the first phase of the event
against Canada (3-1).
Cuba held huge margins in attacks (52-38) and
blocks (11-5), and a comfortable 7-3 advantage
in serves. Puerto Rico committed fewer errors
than Cuba (28-36).
Outside hitter Julio Cesar Cardenas was Cuba’s
leading scorer with 15 points, middle blocker
Javier Concepcion and opposite hitter Jesus
Herrera followed with 11 points each.
Puerto Rican Klistan Lawrence scored a
match-high of 19 points.
Yonder García, Libero of Cuba:
“En general nos sentimos en óptimas condiciones,
preparándonos para el Challenger el próximo mes,
además de que tenemos la Copa Panamericana en
Canadá. Varios jugadores están con buen nivel y
todos son efectivos a la hora de entrar a la
cancha, algunos descansaron hoy. Mañana le
jugaremos duro a México, como lo hemos hecho
ante todos los rivales, la meta es tener buenos
resultados”.
Arturo Iglesias, Captain of Puerto Rico:
“Cuba is very physical, powerful, and strong;
despite all I believe we competed well. We
started a bit soft, in the second set we had
better rhythm, but they (Cuba) had the necessary
strength to win. We had more confidence, and we
were able to take the second set. We will
compete to reach the finals”.
Nicolás Vives, Head Coach of Cuba:
“The guys are doing well. We did some changes,
necessary to observe all our players, we got the
victory which is important, and we are going one
step at a time for next tournaments. This is an
important competition for world ranking, but we
must see every player thinking about future
situations”. |
