Guatemala Finishes Junior Pan American

Games in Seventh Place

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, August 22, 2025.- Guatemala wrapped up the II Junior Pan American Games Asunción 2025 with a 3-2 victory over Paraguay (18-25, 25-22, 22-25, 26-24, 15-13), securing seventh place in the men’s volleyball tournament.

The Guatemalan squad closed with a record of 2 wins and 4 losses; both wins over Paraguay who finished without a victory in the competition.

The hosts were close to sealing the match in four sets, but Guatemala rallied from a four-point deficit (20-24) in the fourth set to force a tie-break. The celebration came with an attack from Yeferson Zavala that sealed the win.

Guatemala held a slight edge in serving (5-4) and capitalized on 30 Paraguayan errors compared to their own 24. Both teams scored 63 attack points, while Paraguay held a huge margin in blocking 18-8.

Pablo Pérez led Guatemala with 19 points (18 attacks, 1 block), followed by team captain Jerry Durán with 18 (16 attacks, 1 block, 1 ace) and Luis Mendizábal with 14 (11 attacks, 2 blocks, 1 ace).

For Paraguay, Alejandro López shone as the top scorer of the match with 35 points, supported by Milton Pérez with 14 (11 attacks, 2 blocks, 1 ace), Elías Amarilla with 11, and both Tobías Brizuela and Ángel Sánchez with 10 each.

Cuban coach Reider Lucas, head coach of Guatemala, spoke about the team’s performance during the tournament: “The discussion for seventh-eighth place had the team in low spirits. We lost focus throughout the match, and it was very hard to recover. Our physical preparation helped us come back from four crucial points to force the fifth set. This was a tough competition, with talented players from very strong teams. For us, even winning a set against these teams is already a victory.”