Guatemala Claims Sixth Title at the VII AFECAVOL

U23 Central American Championship

CHIRIQUÍ, Panama, September 20, 2025.– After an uncertain start, Guatemala rose to the occasion to defeat Nicaragua 3-1 (29-31, 25-17, 25-18, 25-15) in the battle for the title of the VII AFECAVOL U23 Men’s Central American Championship.

For the Guatemalan team, it was their sixth triumph in seven editions, making them the most successful nation in this category, while Nicaragua earned their second silver medal.

Nicaragua struck first by taking a hard-fought opening set 31-29, but far from letting their guard down, Guatemala stepped up in the next three sets to seal the victory and the championship.

ÁLBUM GUA VS NICARAGUA

Guatemala was superior in blocking points 12-7, attacks 67-50, service points 3-2, and conceded 23 points on unforced errors compared to Nicaragua’s 22.

José Pérez shone on offense, scoring 22 points to lead Guatemala’s attack, with Jerry Durán adding 17 and Jeferson Zavala contributing 15. For Nicaragua, Yader León and Jesy Umaña finished the match with 16 points each.

At the end of the match, Guatemala’s coach Lucas Raider said: “For us, it was a tournament with many ups and downs; we improved along the way, we were able to win the matches that mattered, and we got the result we wanted.”

Regarding the runner-up finish, Nicaragua’s coach Jorge Mena commented: “We did the work to reach this second place, which surely no one expected us to achieve, especially considering the countries that were present at this event. The team was very worn out after the semifinal against Panama, and that affected us a lot.”