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HAVANA, Cuba, June 5, 2015 - Puerto Rico defeated Cuba 3-1
(25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17) in the second match of the NORCECA
Women’s Final Four Champions Cup at the Sports City Coliseum in
Havana where two tickets are available for the World Cup in
Japan which will be the first Olympic Qualifier for Rio de
Janeiro, 2016.
Aurea Cruz (17) and Karina Ocasio (16) topped the offense by the
visitors. For the host team, the 15-year-old player, Melissa
Vargas was the top-scorer (23), followed by her team-mate Sulian
Matienzo (12) in a match that lasted an hour and 42 minutes.
José Mieles, the coach of Puerto Rico, rated the match as “hot”.
He was, however, satisfied because their tactical goals were
fulfilled.
“It was good to start winning over Cuba even though we defeated
them in all our matches last year,” Mieles said. “Their new
coach has made some adjustments with Melissa as outside-hitter.
She is an extraordinary player. In general the other teams
should be careful with this team because they are coming
through.”
Captain, Yarimar Rosa, expressed her joy for the victory: “It is
the first step to clinch one berth. We looked well as we have
been working hard on it. We all in good playing condition as we
have just ended the season at home and it helps us to start
playing at a good level.”
Roberto García, local coach, stated that “It is hard for my team
to play in the close sets, to make positive actions. In
addition, there were several service failures in the first set
and Melissa did not perform well as outside hitter. She needs to
improve mentally. For example, she is able to score 20 points,
but she also makes 35 errors.”
Sulian Matienzo, local captain, admitted that “Puerto Rico is an
experienced team and they know our weaknesses. Moreover they
showed the number of matches they have accumulated. Nevertheless
we will learn to outclass them in the future.” |
