Puerto Rico Defeats Nicaragua in their Opening Match

COLIMA, Mexico, June 17, 2028.-  Puerto Rico secured a 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-10) victory over Nicaragua on the first day of the Boys U17 Pan American Cup in Colima, Mexico. 

In pool B, Puerto Rico (1-0), the current NORCECA champions in this category, will have a rest day on Tuesday, while Nicaragua (0-1) will face Cuba.

Puerto Rico had a strong debut and had no trouble prevailing over Nicaragua, leading 43 to 12 in attack points and 8 to 1 in service points. Nicaragua performed better in block points (3-1).

Puerto Rico's coach rotated all his players, with Adrián Carrillo leading the scoring with 9 points. Erick Vazquez and Maximiliano Aponte each finished with 7 points.

Luis Valle and Ismael Martínez each scored 4 points for Nicaragua.

Gustavo Alvarez, Puerto Rico’s captain, said, “Serving was one of our strengths in this match. Our passing was good, which allowed us to have a strong offense. Our receiving and blocking helped a lot in our defense, factors that contributed to the victory”.

Bradley Cordon, Nicaragua’s captain, commented, “We were mainly missing two players who just finished the U21 NORCECA yesterday and will join the team tomorrow, one of whom is our setter. The problem was that we had to adapt as setters, which was a new experience, but it ultimately helps us become more complete as players”.