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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, April 24, 2015 – The
Dominican Republic captured the gold medal at the U20 Women’s
Pan American Cup by defeating Argentina 3-1 (25-20, 25-22,
20-25, 25-15) in front of a noisy crowd of over 3,000 spectators
at Ricardo Arias Pavilion of Santo Domingo on Friday night.
Gaila Gonzalez, who was named the Most Valuable Player, had a
tournament-high 26 points to lead four Dominican players with
double digits in the scores. Jineiry Martinez followed with 20
points while Natalia Martinez and Maria Garcia contributed 14
and 10 points, respectively.
Maria Corbalan was the top offensive player for Argentina with
21 points followed by Anahi Tosi who had 15 points.
Candelaria Herrera and Candela Nota had 8 points apiece in the
loss.
The winners led in attacks (58-35) and the losers had the edge
in blocks (12-11) and scored 10 aces to 4 by the eventual
champions.
“Thanks to God we won this medal,” said Yocaty Perez, the
captain of Dominican Republic. “We wanted this victory and went
out to get it. Now we need to continue working in our
concentration and every aspect of the game.”
“We had good and bad moments but they (Dominicans) were the best
team and it was a great experience for us to play in this
tournament,” said Azul Benitez, the captain of Argentina.
“It was a difficult game and we played well for the first two
sets,” said Wagner Pacheco, the coach of Dominican Republic. “In
the third set the Argentineans killed us with their serves. I am
very proud of my players and very proud of my technical staff
also.”
“They were deserving champions and I am happy of my group and of
wearing the shirt of Argentina,” said Mauro Silvestre, the coach
of Argentina. “It has been a learning experience for my players
and will help their development.” |
