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DURANGO, Mexico, August 21,
2021.- Puerto Rico advanced into the Men’s
NORCECA Continental Championship semifinals
defeating Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-22, 22-25,
25-16, 25-23) in Durango Mexico.
Puerto Rico will play Cuba in
semifinals and Dominican Republic plays
classification for positions 5-8 against
Trinidad and Tobago.
Puerto Rico blocked Dominican
Republic all the way with an impressive 19-9
advantage, counteracting Dominican’s powerful
attacks; they also did better in attacks 51-48
and 3-0 in serves. Both teams finished with
similar unforced errors, Puerto Rico with 29 and
Dominican Republic with 24.
Puerto Rican Opposite Gabriel
García led all scorers with a match-high of 26
points on 19 attacks, 6 blocks and one ace; also
joining the party of points were outside hitter
Pelegrin Vargas with 16 points, middle blocker
Jonathan Rodríguez contributed with 12 points
and middle blocker Pedro Nieves topped in blocks
with 7 points from his 11 points total.
Arturo Iglesias,
Captain of Puerto Rico: “It was a hard game,
they played very well, we had some bad moments
and I believe we gave away the second set
because of our numerous errors; we played one
point a time with confidence. We
are really glad”.
Oswald Antonetti, Head coach of
Puerto Rico: “Dominican Republic is well
prepared, they are physically in good shape,
they are organized and have many qualities,
therefore it was a psychological match; we
depend on our emotional intelligence. We are a
team of tradition, we are current Central
American and Caribbean champions, we want this
team to feed on those traditions, we are excited
to continue playing”.
Henry López, outside hitter
Dominican Republic: “We failed in key moments,
some attacks that could have been good we failed
and they did good job”.
Dante Mañon, Coach of Dominican
Republic: “Our anxiety destroyed us, we weren’t
ahead only in one set, and we dominated the
match. Our best attacker, Tapia, was always
blocked by two players and that made us lose
concentration”. |
