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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 12, 2021
– Mexico won a thrilling five-setter 3-2 (34-32,
19-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13) over Puerto Rico to
open the actions at the U23 Men’s Pan American
Cup in Santo Domingo on Monday.
The tournament is a qualifier to the Junior Pan
American Games to be held in Cali, Colombia from
November 25 to December 5.
Diego Gonzalez scored 18 points to lead three
Mexican players who finished the match with
double figures. Luis Hernández and Yasutaka
Sanay added 11 and 10 in the victory while Jorge
Hernandez and Josue Lopez each contributed 9
points.
Puerto Rican Pedro Molina registered a
match-high 28 points, including four blocks and
three aces, as the main scoring weapon for the
defeated side. Jamal Ellis and Antonio Elias
each had 12 points.
In a match of 2 hours and 41 minutes, Mexico
held the advantage in service winners 7-5 but
Puerto Rico dominated the defense at the net
15-10. The winners made 48 unforced errors to 46
by the losers.
Axel Tellez, captain of Mexico: “It was a very
close match as we were stretched to five sets
and our bench responded very well.”
Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico: “It was a very
long match that lasted almost three hours. Our
bench players did everything we asked and our
rotation of players helped us at the end.”
Pedro Molina, captain of Puerto Rico: “It was
our first match here with a team pretty young. I
think we did a good job and hope we can continue
improving the rest of the event.”
Gerardo de Jesus, coach of Puerto Rico: “First
match we play after this pandemic. It was
extended to five sets and the players were
exhausted. I hope this match serves as
preparation for our next commitments.” |
