Guatemala came from behind to defeat Trinidad and Tobago

PINAR DEL RÍO, Cuba, June 9, 2018.- Guatemala came from behind and defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3-1 (20-25, 30-28, 25-21, 25-20) and left in third place with 2-2 record in the Norceca Men's Challenger Cup, which awarded a berth in the FIVB 2019 League of Nations qualifying World Final.

In Sala 19 de Noviembre the Caribbean people started aggressive and won the first set. The second went almost similar until the end when the Central American champions tied at 23, forgot the best physique of the rivals to reverse the score and beat 30-28. The outcome raised the passions in the squad of Guatemala, who never lost the initiative in a clash that lasted almost two hours.

Outside hitter Carlos López was the backbone of his squad with 20 points, the only one to add double digits. The other who contributed most for Guatemala was Wagner Chacón with 9.

Meanwhile, the main scorer of the match was the fierce Caribbean opposite Ryan Stewart with 24 points, followed by corner attackers Marlon Phillip (14) and Akim Bushe (13).

The Trinidadians finished in fourth place with a record of one win and three setbacks, but showed that the less strong teams are those that exhibit a gradual but stable rise in the area for a few years and already reap their fruits, and as in the feminine, appear among the eight contestants for the Central American and Caribbean Games of Barranquilla 2018.

The Cuban Reider Lucas Morea, technical director of Guatemala, said that "we started with desire but the game did not come out, we made changes and in the second quarter the players from the bench and responded and it is good that they demand from the regulars. What we planned, the third place and having played with very high level rivals. My team showed dedication and courage which precisely helped us the most, as well as the reception and the complex one that was much better and we could define the balls at the right time. The boys are already aware of the tactical issues and in which they must overcome the mistakes".

Lopez, the Central American captain, first of all congratulated the Trinidadians, "they form a very strong team, but today if we concentrate and work as a team, it was the important thing and we fulfilled the goal we set for ourselves, third place and we are happy, motivated yet more to continue doing a good job, because we have the serious commitment of the Central American and Caribbean Games of Barranquilla."

The Trinidad and Tobago Stewart said that "we had been working well until the middle of the second set, but we lost focus and made many mistakes, in addition the player who replaced our setter who was injured in the previous game was also injured and that new change was very difficult. We did a good job, but I think we reacted very late."

Sean Morrison, coach of the Caribbean, said that "today the best team won, we made a lot of mistakes, the loss of the second passer affected us too much, it was very difficult for my men to catch up, but I am very satisfied with all the work they have done in the tournament, despite the fact that we do not have two important players, one came from Portugal and the best blocker.”