GUATEMALA, September 5, 2024.- El Salvador earned its first victory in the AFECAVOL Men’s Final Four on Thursday, defeating Belize 3-1 in four closely contested sets, 25-18, 23-25, 26-24, and 25-23.
Belize outperformed El Salvador in attacks 54-52 and in aces 4-3, while both teams were tied in blocks at 7.
Francis Hauze of Belize led all scorers with 23 points, including 3 blocks and one ace. For Belize, Kerwin Palacio added 17 points, and Ernest Broaster contributed 11, supporting Hauze in the attack.
On the other hand, El Salvador had Abner Cano with 20 points and Rodrigo Chávez with 11 points as their top scorers.
El Salvador capitalized on Belize’s 37 unforced errors to secure the victory.
Belize will conclude its participation this Friday at 5 PM facing Nicaragua, while El Salvador will play against Guatemala at 7:30 PM.
Abner Cano of El Salvador said, “After yesterday’s defeat, we sat down as a team and committed to winning the last two games to make it to the podium. The result was what we expected. In the last games we’ve played against Guatemala, we haven’t been able to beat them, but we’re here to change history”.
Elton Anderson, Captain of Belize, commented, “It was a bad result. It wasn’t the result we wanted. We worked hard, but somehow in the last parts of the sets, we just couldn’t finish. Tomorrow, it’s a must-win against Nicaragua, at least we’ll leave with a victory. We wanted three wins, but tomorrow we all need to come focused and play hard from start to finish”.
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