Cuba, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico Reach
Men’s Semifinals in Varadero
VARADERO, Cuba, May 3, 2025.- Both Cuban duos, along with teams from
Nicaragua and Puerto Rico, secured their spots in the men's
semifinal round of the 2025 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour, taking
place on the courts near the Barceló Arenas Blancas Hotel.
The highest-ranked team in the tournament, Cubans Noslen Díaz and
Jorge Luis Alayo, will face fellow countrymen Damián Gómez and Eblis
Veranes, young, energetic players who have made remarkable progress
since their debut last year at this same venue.
The other semifinal will feature Nicaragua’s Rubén Mora and Dany
López against Puerto Rico’s Arnaldo Y. Torres and Cristian
Encarnación.
For Olympians Díaz and Alayo, this semifinal is particularly
meaningful, as they have yet to claim the top spot on the podium in
the last two Varadero editions, settling for bronze in 2023 and
silver last year.
In Saturday’s quarterfinals, Díaz and Alayo dominated Americans
Charles Siragusa and Dexter Campbell, cruising to a convincing 2-0
victory with scores of 21-7 and 21-11.
Gómez and Veranes had a tougher challenge in the first set but found
their rhythm in the second, defeating U.S. Virgin Islands’ Williams
Clements and Devin Van Siclen 2-0 (28-26, 21-13).
Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans Torres and Encarnación overcame a rough
second set to edge Americans Troy Field and Ryan Wilcox in three
sets (21-16, 14-21, 15-10).
The final ticket to the penultimate round went to Nicaragua’s Mora
and López, who won the tournament’s longest and most hard-fought
match so far. After one hour and eight minutes, they triumphed over
Canadians Steven Abrams and Tynan Gannett in three sets (22-24,
28-26, 15-12).
Day’s Results (pool-play):
A: Diaz/Alayo (CUB) a Sarabia/Osuna (MEX) 2-0 (21-15, 21-9) y a De
Jesús/Maldonado (DOM) 2-0 (21-16, 21-12), Field/Wilcox
(USA) a Sarabia/Osuna (MEX) 2-0 (21-17, 21-14), Esyenser/Juliangel
(VEN) a De Jesus/Maldonado (DOM) 2-0 (21-16, 21-21)
B: Torres/Encarnación (PUR) a Licht/de Greeff (CAN) 2-0 (21-15,
21-19), Blanco/García (GUA) a Siragusa/Campbell (USA) 2-0
(24-22, 24-22), Lares/Carlos Andrés (MEX) a Blanco/Garcia (GUA) 2-0
(21-17, 21-13), Siragusa/Campbell (USA) a Torres/Encarnación (PUR)
2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 15-8)
C: Gómez/Veranes (CUB) a Enile/Theodore (TTO) 2-0 (21-18, 21-6),
Abrams/Gannett (CAN) a Solano/Coronado (CRC) 2-0 (21-9,
21-17), Abrams/Gannett (CAN) a Enile/Theodore (TTO) 2-0 (21-11,
21-10)
D: Clements/Van Siclen (ISV) a Gálvez/Reyes (HON) 2-0 (21-17,
21-14), Mora/López (NCA) a Clements/Van Siclen (ISV) 2-0 (21-18,
25-23), Gálvez/Reyes (HON) a Dwarkasing/Kasdi (SUR) 2-1 (21-17,
18-21, 15-7)
MEN’S RESULTS VARADERO |