Puerto Rico claims bronze medal in U19 Boys Pan Am Cup

MONTERREY, Mexico, March 25, 2017 - Puerto Rico won the Bronze Medal after a four setter victory against Colombia by scores of 16-25, 25-18, 25-23 and 27-25 in U19 Boys Pan Am Cup. Gabriel Garcia scored 37 points, while Pedro Molina finished with 22 for Puerto Rico.

On the Colombian side, Carlos Llanos topped with 21, while Oliver Murillo scored 13 and captain Raul Rivas finished with 10.

Colombia leaded in blocks 14-8 with 10 by Llanos, but Puerto Rico overcame the South Americans in services with 11 aces (including 7 by Pedro Molina) against 8 by Colombia (3 by Murillo).

Captain of Puerto Rico, Gabriel Garcia: “We feel great, super happy. We are proud of winning this medal and take it to Puerto Rico. The first set was tough, but we took out that courage that we, as Puerto Ricans always have inside.”

Captain of Colombia, Raúl Rivas: “Thanks god for playing in a tournament like this. We had the wish of winning a medal, we began plying hard and we were so close in the last set.”

Coach of Puerto Rico, Juan Albarrán: “This is something great, not only the qualification to the World Championship, but also to win a medal and take it home to our country. We struggled in our complex 1 plays in the last set. It was complicated but fortunately we could make it.”

Coach of Colombia, Carlos Osorio: “We play the first set very well as we prepared for this tournament. However exposure and competitive preparation are someting important against a strong opponent.”