Mexico wins the gold medal
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 8, 2007.- Mexico won the
gold medal of the Men’s Volleyball Pan American Cup by scoring a
four-set victory over Puerto Rico 26-24, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20 on
Friday night.
The Mexicans, who finished in second place of Pool A during the
preliminary phase, defeated Panama in the quarterfinals, and then
beat Cuba in semi finals. Their only loss was against the Puerto
Ricans in their opening match.
Both Mexico and Puerto Rico were already qualified to the Americas
Cup next year in Brazil.
Once again, Mexico showed great blocking ability and combined
powerful attacks with subtle touches against a Puerto Rican squad
who battled with tenacity.
Jose Martell and Gustavo Meyer led Mexico with 22 and 20 points
and Irving Bricio added 10. Victor Bird had 20 for Puerto Rico and
Roberto Muniz, Enrique Escalante and Juan Figueroa added 17, 13
and 11 respectively.
“We had some problems with our concentration in the third set but
then we put things together after the first technical time-out of
the fourth set,” said Carlos Novoa, the Mexican coach. “We came
here looking to qualify for the Americas Cup and now we go back to
Mexico with the gold medal.
You can not ask for more.”
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