Puerto Rico Keeps Its Hopes Alive at Men’s Pan American Cup

MORELOS, Mexico, August 12, 2026.- Puerto Rico kept its hopes of advancing to the next round of the 2026 Men’s Pan American Cup alive with a hard-fought 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-23) victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday at Poliforum 2 of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM).

Puerto Rico, which needed the victory to remain in contention in Pool A, will close pool play on Thursday against Trinidad and Tobago.

Costa Rica concluded the preliminary round with a 1-3 record and must wait for the remaining pool matches to be completed to learn its final position.

Despite being decided in straight sets, the match was closely contested from start to finish. Puerto Rico responded in the decisive moments of each set against a Costa Rican side that stayed close on the scoreboard. In the third set, the Central Americans took a 21-20 lead, but Puerto Rico responded down the stretch to close out the victory 25-23.

Puerto Rico held the advantage in attacks 35-24, blocks 15-10, and service aces 2-0. Costa Rica committed fewer unforced errors, 23 compared to Puerto Rico’s 32.

Pedro Molina was the match’s leading scorer with 20 points for Puerto Rico, followed by Ismael Alomar with 10 points, five of them on blocks. Gilberth Solano led Costa Rica with 11 points.

Dennis Del Valle, libero of Puerto Rico: “This was a crucial victory for us. The plan was to come out and get the win to stay in contention for a medal. Costa Rica is a very young, very talented team, with athletic players who have the same fighting spirit we do. It was a very competitive match.”

Del Valle added about the final match of pool play, “Tomorrow we’ll keep the same mindset of getting the victory and continue rotating players on the court so that when they are needed, everyone feels comfortable out there, because this is a very long tournament.”

Jeremy Vanega, middle blocker of Costa Rica: “It was a very competitive match, and we were close to extending it. Puerto Rico is a very strong team in every aspect of the game. We’re grateful that Costa Rica has the opportunity to be here competing against high-level teams.”