GATINEAU, August 12, 2022: The United States defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-17, 29-27, 26-24) on Friday evening at the 15th Men’s Pan American Cup at the Centre Slush Puppie arena in Gatineau, Quebec Canada.

Team USA advances to the semi-finals along with Chile, who beat Mexico in the earlier quarterfinal today, Canada and Cuba. 

The U.S. will face North American rivals Canada in its semi on Saturday.  

Today, the U.S. led in attacking (45-39), blocking (10-4) and service points (7-5). However, the winning team had slightly more errors than Puerto Rico (20-18).

Opposite Jake Hanes and middle Patrick Gasman of USA led scoring with 17 points apiece. Klistan Lawrence Vidal was top scorer of Puerto Rico with 15 points followed by teammate Kevin Lopez who contributed 12.

A berth to the Pan Am Games, which will be held in Santiago, Chile in 2023, is at stake at this tournament.