|
TORONTO, July 16, 2015 – Defending champions coach Roberto
Guimaraes took a cautious approach about his team’s chances of
repeating the gold medal won four years ago when the Pan
American Games women’s volleyball tournament took place in
Guadalajara, Mexico.
Ze Roberto, as the highly touted coach is mostly known, admitted
his team needs to play at a very high level while saying that
Dominican Republic and United States both have teams capable to
win the title.
“I rather prefer to wait and see instead of making any
predictions about our chances,” the Brazilian coach said.
“Dominican Republic and United States both have strong teams and
also can reach the finals.”
The coaches of the eight participating teams gave their views
about their sides and goals during the preliminary inquiry
conducted on early Thursday, one day before the start of the Pan
Am Games volleyball tournament.
Here follows the excerpts of their statements:
Guillermo Orduna, Argentina:
“Argentina don’t participate in the Pan American volleyball
since 1999, so being back is very important. Our team has grown
and improved after the Grand Prix. We had very good matches in
Croatia against very tough teams and we had a good game against
the Netherlands in Argentina. We need to recover physically
after two very demanding months.”
Roberto Guimaraes, Brazil:
“I think the level this time is stronger and we need to play
very well to reach the finals. I hope we can play for the gold
medal but I rather prefer to wait and see instead of making any
predictions about our chances. Dominican Republic and United
States both have strong teams and also can reach the finals.”
Arnd Ludwig, Canada:
“We stabilized our game during the Grand Prix and we are looking
forward to play that way in the Pan American Games at home. Our
goal is to make the semifinals. Playing good matches against
strong competition in the Grand Prix gave us a boost in our
confidence and I hope we can bring here that same energy to our
games.”
Roberto Garcia, Cuba:
“The team is coming with a good preparation after the Pan
American Cup and the Grand Prix. This is very strong competition
and our pool is a difficult one with Argentina, Dominican
Republic and Canada. The team has grown a lot and I am looking
forward to have good dividends in our pool.”
Marcos Kwiek, Dominican Republic:
“This is a very important competition for us. Our team has
improved since the Pan American Cup with the veteran players now
adjusted to the group. I hope we can continue improving with the
competition. Our intention is to win a medal. The pool is a
tough one and we have to take one game at a time.”
Mauro Marasciulo, Peru:
“We are coming here after several consecutive competitions and
satisfied with our participation at the FIVB World Grand Prix
and reaching the finals of our Group. We are in a strong pool
with the Olympic and the World champions so it will be tough but
also of benefit for our young players who will be representing
Peru in the next Pan American Games in Lima.”
José Mieles, Puerto Rico:
“Our team is in a very good moment after a series of tournaments
during the summer in preparation for this event. We are trying
to make history winning our first medal for Puerto Rican
volleyball at the Pan Am Games. The addition of Karina Ocasio
and the consistency of Stephanie Enright give us more
stability.”
Daniel Fisher, United States:
“We feel have a strong team and we are coming in here with the
intention to win the tournament, and I feel we have the players
to do it. I think we have a lot of confidence in the girls and
we have a lot of experienced players. Our confidence has
increased after we won the Pan Am Cup. We are very excited for
our first day of competition”. |
