Puerto Rico Looks to Defend Its NORCECA U17

Title After Outlasting Mexico in a Dramatic Five-Set Battle

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, November 22, 2025.– Puerto Rico earned the chance to defend its crown after defeating Mexico 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 15-12) in an exciting semifinal of the NORCECA Boys’ U17 Continental Championship, which awards a berth to the age-group FIVB World Championship.

Mexico took the early lead, but Puerto Rico responded strongly to claim the next two sets. Although it seemed they would complete the comeback, the Mexicans made the necessary adjustments to comfortably win the fourth set and force a tiebreak. In the fifth set, Puerto Rico came from behind to secure the victory.

Mexico led in attacking 61-59 and in blocking 6-5, while Puerto Rico held the edge in serving 7-3. Puerto Rico also capitalized on 27 Mexican errors, several of them late in the sets, despite committing 36 themselves.

Puerto Rico’s top scorers were Antonio Figueroa with 19 points, Elvis González with 18, and Emilio Machín with 11. Mexico was led by a standout performance from Francisco Romero with 31 points, followed by Axel Ortiz with 15.

On Sunday, Mexico will face the United States at 2:00 p.m. for the bronze medal, while Puerto Rico will look to retain the title and qualify for the World Championship against Cuba at 4:00 p.m.

Hernán Torres, Puerto Rico’s Head Coach: “We’ve continued developing this project, and we’re going to defend the title. Now we face our brothers from Cuba, who played a great match against the United States. Mexico came out very strong, but we were able to defend the ball, regain our serving rhythm in the fifth set, which had already helped us in the previous sets, and we reached our goal.”

Héctor Lavergne, Puerto Rico’s Captain: “Excellent match, excellent opponent. The energy was incredible, sky-high. We achieved our objective, and now we’re going for the gold. The entire match was pure concentration; the team’s energy never dropped, and we had the support of our parents, without them we wouldn’t be in this position. They are our main support.”