BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 14, 2009 – Cuba
edged Puerto Rico 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 to capture
the Pool A and a direct spot in the semifinals
of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship.
More than 6,000 fans were in attendance at Ruben
Rodríguez Coliseum.
Cuban Roberlandy Simon recorded three blocks and
was good with 9 of 12 killing attempts to finish
with 13 points. Wilfredo Leon and Michael
Sanchez had 12 apiece and Yoendry Leal
contributed 8 points. Puerto Ricans Hector Soto
and Jose Rivera each scored 12 points and Victor
Rivera charted 9.
“It was a good match with some up and downs for
us in the first set,” said Roberlandy Simon, the
captain of Cuba. “Then we found our rhythm and I
think Puerto Rico didn’t have the power at the
end of the sets. We are achieving our goal thus
far and hope to continue playing hard the rest
of the way.”
“We battled point by point with Cuba in the
first two sets until the 20-point level,” said
Luis Rodriguez, the captain of Puerto Rico. “But
they played an excellent game with good
reception. They were the superior team and
dominated the game with Simon attacking down the
middle and freeing the corners.”
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