Dominican Republic Defeats Guatemala

to Play for Fifth-Place Match

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 27, 2026. – The Dominican Republic defeated host Guatemala in straight sets 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-23) to earn a place in the fifth-place match at the 2026 Men's U21 Pan American Cup, being held at Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium in Guatemala City.

The Dominican Republic will face the winner between Venezuela and Nicaragua for fifth place, while Guatemala will take on the loser for seventh place.

The Dominicans held a 52-36 advantage in attacks and a 9-3 edge in blocks. Both teams scored four aces, while the Dominican Republic capitalized on 28 unforced errors by Guatemala and committed 13 of its own.

Opposite hitter Malik Britton led all scorers with 31 points. Wayner Compres added 13 points and Melvin de Jesús Albino contributed 11. For Guatemala, José Luis Samayoa paced the offense with 13 points, followed by Christian Álvarez with 10.

In the opening set, Guatemala rallied from a 15-19 deficit to close within one point behind two attacks from José Luis Samayoa and another from Anthony Marroquín. The Dominican Republic maintained its advantage by capitalizing on Guatemalan errors and the powerful offense of Malik Britton. The hosts tied the score at 21 with an attack and an ace by Marroquín, but a strong spike by Britton earned set point for the Caribbean side, and a block by Kelvin Mercedes on Gerson Carranza sealed the set 25-23.

Guatemala controlled much of the second set, led by middle blocker Christian Álvarez, and held two opportunities to level the match. However, the Dominican Republic also let two set points slip away before back-to-back aces from Wayner Compres secured a hard-fought 27-25 win and a 2-0 lead.

The third set featured numerous ties from the outset. The Dominican Republic built a three-point advantage at 16-13 with attacks from Britton and Melvin Albino, along with a Guatemalan error. Guatemala responded after trailing 17-20, tying the score at 20 on a Dominican error, a service ace by Santiago Mena that Compres was unable to handle, and a successful attack by Samayoa. With the score even at 23, Britton scored from the back row to make it 24-23, and a block by Kelvin Mercedes on Mena sealed the Dominican Republic's straight-set victory.