Mexico Bounces Back to Defeat Guatemala in Four Sets

PONCE, Puerto Rico, August 27, 2026. – Mexico bounced back after dropping a hard-fought opening set to defeat Guatemala 3-1 (27-29, 25-22, 25-23, 25-20) on Thursday, closing the preliminary round of the NORCECA Men’s Final Six at the Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium.

With the victory, Mexico, already qualified for the semifinals, finished the preliminary round with a 3-2 record, while Guatemala closed with a 0-5 mark.

Guatemala will face Dominican Republic for positions 5-6.

Guatemala challenged Mexico from the start and prevailed in a tightly contested opening set that extended into extra points. With the score tied at 27, Andy Blanco put Guatemala ahead with an attack before the Central Americans secured the set 29-27.

Mexico responded by taking the next three sets, to complete the comeback and head into the semifinals with its third victory of the tournament.

Franky Hernández led Mexico with 21 points, followed by Yasutaka Sanay with 18, Diego González with 14, Axel Téllez with 12, and Víctor Parra with 10.

For Guatemala, Andy Blanco scored 21 points, supported by Carlos Fernando López Santiago with 14 and José Pablo Pérez Alvarado with 13.

In team statistics, Mexico held the advantage in attacks (62-53), blocks (15-4), and aces (5-4). Mexico committed 33 errors compared to Guatemala’s 20.

Carlos Schwanke – Mexico Head Coach

“I believe we are now in the semifinals, where the most difficult matches begin and every team’s ambitions rise. We still need to improve the quality of our serving to face what lies ahead, but we are confident. In these semifinals, you can expect a lot of fight from Mexico. We are going to battle hard.”

Yasutaka Sanay Heredia – Mexico

“Mexico is a team that will always fight and is very defensive, which means we must be very precise in our attack and serve. We struggled a lot in the first set, even in reception.

“For the semifinals, we will analyze the opponent we face and make the necessary adjustments accordingly.”