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TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 15, 2022.- Cuba
topped the preliminary round undefeated winning
their last match to Mexico 3-0 (25-20, 25-18,
25-22) at the Men’s Pan American Cup NORCECA
Final Six on Friday night at the Amando Nervo
Auditorium in Tepic, Nayarit.
Cuba finished first place with 5-0 record and 22
points, they will face Puerto Rico in the
semifinals who finished fourth. The other
semifinal is a North American battle between
Canada and the United States, second and third
place respectively.
Mexico with a 1-4 record will play Dominican
Republic for fifth place.
Mexico suffered the loss of one of its key
players, opposite hitter Diego Gonzalez, early
in the first set, who was injured falling while
defending over the net.
Cuba beat Mexico on 36-25 advantage in attacks
and a 7-1 margin in aces. Mexico led 7-6 in
blocks and committed one less unforced error
than Cuba (26-27).
Opposite hitter Jesus Herrera tallied 16 points
for Cuba, on 13 kills, one block and two aces,
joined by outside hitter Osniel Mergarejo with
14 points on 11 kills, one block and two aces.
Mexico’s top scorer was outside hitter Mauro
Fuentes with 8 points all on kills.
Simon Robertlandy, Middle blocker of Cuba:
“We are preparing for the competition in Korea,
so this is good preparation, we are trying to
perform the best way possible, limiting our
errors, we still have deficiencies, we can
improve more. Tomorrow against Puerto Rico we
will try to reach the final and win the
tournament, that will give us confidence and
positivity to go to Korea, but we are taking one
step at a time. It’s not about being the
strongest team, but to have confidence and
consistency while playing; I believe the United
States and Canada are also strong, the final
will be complicated for whoever reaches it”.
Pedro Rangel, Captain of Mexico:
“We still have one more match. I am happy with
our performance because we have faced powerful
opponents, we are eager to play and try to win.
The tournament has been a great learning
experience for Worlds that is soon. We played
one on one against Cuba; the sets were close.
The youth in our team came out strong and they
are on the right track”.
Nicolás Vives, Head Coach of Cuba:
“This Cup has been good, the teams are well
prepared; we are working our machinery slowly
for the other important international events for
us, the Challenger that’s coming soon and that
could give us a ticket to the VNL. Mexico a well
prepared, there’s a lot of adrenaline between
us, we tried to stabilize our game, there are
things to improve and what matters is the
victory. We are prepared to face any opponent,
tomorrow we go up against Puerto Rico and we are
going to think about them for now”. |
