GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, September 3, 2024: The first AFECAVOL Men’s Final Four Championship kicked off this Tuesday with the preliminary interviews with the coaches and representatives from Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua—the teams that secured the top spots in last year’s Central American Championship.
Everyone agrees that this is a great initiative by the AFECAVOL Board of Directors, as this tournament allows the senior national teams to have annual competition.
Albert Humes, coach of Belize, said, “I believe the Final Four is an excellent tournament. What it does is, if you play here, it helps develop the senior category program, as you get to play in AFECAVOL every year. As for Belize, we are always knocking on the door, and today we are trying to open that door and step inside. Our guys have trained very hard to do well in this tournament. Profe Yamill Herrera from Cuba has greatly helped in trying to take Belize to the next level, so that’s our expectation for this tournament”.
Italian coach Andrea Génova of El Salvador commented, “This is the first time this tournament is being organized, and it’s a great incentive because it features the top 4 teams from last season. I think it’s going to be a good tournament, with extra motivation for senior teams, as they will now compete every year. We have come well-prepared, but the competition will be very tough because everyone has brought a very good team”.
Reider Lucas, coach of Guatemala, expressed, “This is going to be a very interesting and important tournament since it’s the first time it’s being held with the top four ranked teams in Central America. In our region, there is a lot of competitive rivalry, and this helps improve the level of our teams and the level of the area. We believe it will be a very close competition. We have prepared well, we have a fairly renewed team, and we want to do well and try to achieve the objectives we’ve set for ourselves”.
Jorge Mena, coach of Nicaragua, stated, “We appreciate the opportunity to play in this first edition of the Final Four. Our team comes to work, to give our best, and we are well-prepared for this tournament. Our expectations are to reach the highest spot on the podium. We are 100%, we feel good, and the young players are ready to give it their all”.
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