Argentina withstands strong effort from Panama

GATINEAU, Canada, June 13, 2011 – Argentina withstood some heavy pressure from Panama in the last two sets to win 25-16, 25-23, 25-21 in the opening match for both teams at the Pan American Cup men’s volleyball tournament.

‘’We are a young team and the first match is always difficult,’’ said Argentina’s head coach Juan Manuel Cichello.  ‘’Panama was particularly strong in the second set where they were better on defence and made our job difficult.’’

‘’It was a good first match,’’ added Argentina’s captain Juan Ignacio Finoli.  ‘’We started a little bit nervous and we were playing a different system but we felt we prepared very well for our next matches.’’

Agustin Ramonda led Argentina with 14 points and Federico Martina added 10.  Donaldo Urena notched 12 points for Panama and Domingo Avila followed at 10.

“I want to congratulate Argentinean team,” said Panama’s head coach Sergio Balletas. “In the first set we were adjusting our game and made many mental errors especially with our services.  In second and third set we were able to adjust a lot better.”

“We were very motivated to play such a great team,” added Panama’s captain Ricardo Brown.  “We know they are very good and we just watched them on TV recently.  We were a little stressed at times but we are proud to represent our region of Central America.”