WINNIPEG, Canada, June 6, 2008.- Costa Rica battled with Puerto Rico to earn the fifth place at the 2008 Pan American Cup. In four very close sets, Costa Rica won the match 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 23-25.

Costa Rica (61) created another upset by beating Puerto Rico (8).  The Costa Rican players were united on the court and linked all their actions. The Puerto Rico team was disappointed but still has another game tomorrow. They will battle against Trinidad & Tobago.

Costa Rica had two players with 15 points: Jeffery Calderon Orozco and Jose-Pablo Zumbado Mora. Rafael Castro also earned 12 points for the Costa Rica team. The player with the most tallies was Angel Ruiz from Puerto Rico, with 25 points. His teammates Emanuel Batista and Omar Rivera both got 11 points and Sequiel Sanchez cumulated 10.

Juan Acuna-Gamboa, coach of Costa Rica, was proud of his team: “We played very well and I am pleased with my players. We learned a lot during this tournament and my guys will be going home with pride and experience.”

Captain Alexander Villegas Gonzalez added: “This is the first time that we win against Puerto Rico and we are really happy. We played as a team and everybody had their role in this victory.”