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EDMONTON, Canada, January 7, 2016 – The NORCECA Men’s Volleyball
Olympic Qualification Tournament, a four-team competition,
serves off on Friday at the Saville Community Sports Centre of
Edmonton located in the north western region of Canada.
Teams of hosts Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico will be
battling under a round-robin format for one ticket available for
the winner to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Canada, currently ranked No. 10 in the world and playing at
home, is considered as pre-tournament favorites but a stiff
competition is expected from the sides of Cuba (15th), Puerto
Rico (22th) and Mexico (24th). The United States, the major
power in NORCECA region, are already qualified to Rio as winners
of the FIVB World Cup.
The four teams competing in Edmonton were determined by the four
top positions from the NORCECA Men’s Continental Tournament held
in Monterrey, Mexico last October. Canada won their first ever
title at the zonal biennial competition by defeating Cuba 3-1
(25-23, 19-25, 25-18, 25-17). Puerto Rico defeated Mexico in
straight sets for the bronze medal.
The victory at the continental tournament was part of a
successful year for the team coached by Glenn Hoag as the
Canadian men also claimed the crown at the NORCECA Champions
Cup, a four-team qualifier to the World Cup held in Detroit, USA
last May, capped by a sensational five-set seesaw triumph over
hosts United States 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 17-15).
Cuba defeated Mexico in straight sets for the third position.
The Canadians finished with a bronze medal at home during the
volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games held in Toronto
in July with a 3-1 (25-11, 25-12, 23-25, 25-18) over Puerto
Rico. They were also the best positioned team of NORCECA at the
annual Men’s Pan American Cup in Reno, USA in August with a
fourth place behind Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.
All the matches will be streamed at
www.cbc.ca while the Saturday’s match between Canada and
Puerto Rico will be live on national television on CBC.
The teams that finish in second and third places remain in
contention for the World Olympic Qualification Tournaments this
May.
The second placed team will compete at the eight-team World
Olympic Qualification Tournament to be played in Japan between
the periods of May 14 to June 4 where the hosts will be joined
by the top three Asian teams according to the FIVB Men’s World
Ranking, the second and third placed teams from the European
Qualification Tournament and the second placed team from the
South American Qualification Tournament. The top Asian team and
the top three ranked teams from this competition will qualify to
the Olympics.
The third placed from NORCECA, the third team from South America
and the second and third team from Africa will compete at the
Men’s Intercontinental Olympic Qualification Tournament for the
final spot in the twelve-team field of the Olympic Games.
The competition schedule is the following:
January 8th
17:00 - Canada v Mexico
19:00 - Cuba v Puerto Rico
January 9th
13:30 - Canada v Puerto Rico
16:00 - Cuba v Mexico
January 10th
17:00 - Puerto Rico v Mexico
19:00 - Canada v Cuba |
