Brazil turns on the power to place first in Group A

GATINEAU, Canada, June 15, 2011 - Raphael Oliveira led all scorers with 14 points as Brazil defeated Venezuela 25-23, 25-14, 25-11 on Wednesday at the Pan Am Cup men’s volleyball tournament.

With the victory Brazil finishes first in Group A with a 2-0 record.  They must wait the results of the other two matches later this evening to find out whether they head to the quarterfinals or get a bye to the semis.  Meanwhile Venezuela finishes at 0-2 and heads to the consolation round while Mexico (1-1) advances to the quarterfinals.

‘’We improved our rhythm in this second match,’’ said Brazil’s head coach Flavio Marinho.  ‘’We played with more cohesion than against Mexico.  Our goal is to get better and we are happy with the result.’’

‘’Venezuela served well in the first set but I think they got a little discouraged when they didn’t win it,’’ said Brazil’s captain Anderson Rodrigues. 

Kevin Pinerua and Maximo Montoya scored 10 points each for the Venezuelans.

‘’Brazil is very experienced and we are just a bunch of kids,’’ said Venezuela’s head coach Idolo Herrera.  ‘’We tried hard in the first set then lacked concentration and made too many mistakes.’’

‘’This tournament is a great opportunity for us,’’ said Pinerua. ‘’We’ve come here to learn.’’