Mexico Advances to Semifinals After Defeating Barbados

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, November 21, 2025.- Mexico secured a spot in the semifinals with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-16) victory over Barbados in the quarterfinals of the NORCECA U17 Boys’ Continental Championship.

The Mexican team managed to withstand Barbados’s pressure at the end of the first set thanks to their serving, which gave them a comfortable advantage to close out the set.

Mexico’s top scorers were Axel Ortiz with 18 points and Francisco Romero with 14, while Barbados was led by Isaiah John with 10 points.

Mexico prevailed in attacks 48-24 and in serves 10-1, while Barbados led in blocks 4-3. Barbados gave up 14 points on errors, compared to 26 by Mexico.

Mexico will now face Puerto Rico in the second semifinal, scheduled for 8:00 p.m.; Puerto Rico topped Pool A undefeated. Barbados, meanwhile, will play for positions 5-8 against the Dominican Republic, fourth place in Pool B.

Leonardo Cruz Figueroa, Mexico’s setter: “We are very excited; from the beginning we knew our sacrifice would be worth it, and that we would give everything in this match to get closer to our goal. This is just another step toward reaching the final, which is our objective. The best thing about us is the attitude we’ve shown in the matches, managing the pressure from each one; we have great teamwork among us.”

Denis Rivera, Mexico’s coach: “We’re getting into rhythm; tomorrow we face a great opponent (Puerto Rico). Now we have to focus on tomorrow’s semifinal. Barbados pushed a bit; at times we got overconfident during the match, which is normal at this age, but we accomplished our goal, which was qualifying for the semifinals. We made some changes to also give confidence to all the boys, who can be used in the matches to come.”