Exciting five-set win for Panama over Nicaragua

David, Chiriquí, Panama, September 28, 2023 - Panama defeated Nicaragua 3-2 (26-24, 18-25, 25-21, 18-25, 16-14) to secure their second victory at the VI AFECAVOL Men’s U23 Central American Championship at La Basita Sports Center.

It was a battle from start to finish, with Gherson Ortiz leading Panama’s offence in a tightly contested match that was decided by the home team’s determination. Ortiz scored 32 points, joined by Denzel Arboine with 13, Víctor Aráuz with 12, and Víctor Pérez with 11.

The lead on the scoreboard changed several times. In the fifth set, Panama managed to snatch a match point from Nicaragua (13-14) to secure the victory 16-14.

Nicaragua’s leading scorer was Evans Solís with 20 points, followed by Gerald Gómez with 17 and Víctor Cruz with 10 points.

Both teams scored 63 attacking points, Panama led in blocks 14-10, and Nicaragua in service points 3-2. Nicaragua committed 23 errors and Panama 33.

Honduras will face Nicaragua at 5:00 p.m. (Panama time) on the penultimate day of the tournament, and Panama will play against Guatemala at 7:30 p.m.

AFECAVOL SUB23 MASCULINO, PANAMÁ

QUOTES

Eric Lucero, coach of Panama: “It’s important to win because if we had lost, we would have been almost out of the medal contention. Nicaragua is a great team, and our team reflected, raised their spirits, the desire to keep playing, and things worked out thanks to God to get the win. Both teams fought side by side”.

Gherson Ortiz, top scorer for Panama: “We are super happy; this victory gives us a chance to be in the medal standings. It gives a lot of encouragement to the whole team and the coaching staff. Tomorrow, we'll come with our all, just like today. From the beginning, we started with a lot of confidence, in serves, in the backcourt attacks, upfront... we felt very motivated”.