ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, August 17, 2025. – Argentina dug deep to overcome Cuba in a marathon five-set thriller 3-2 (25-21, 26-24, 21-25, 23-25, 16-14), in the opening match of Pool B in the men’s volleyball tournament at the II Junior Pan American Games Asunción 2025, held at the Paraguayan Olympic Committee (COP) Arena.
The first set was even until 15-all, when Argentina took control through the power of captain Pablo Cabañas and Nahuel Rojas, while Alejandro González kept Cuba in contention.
The second set brought a dramatic finish. Cuba reached set point with a spike from Bryan Camino, but Argentina denied them with a block and an ace by Nahuel García, tying the score at 24. A block from Iván Pavón and a Cuban reception error on García’s serve handed Argentina the 2-0 lead.
Cuba struck back in the third, powered by the serves of Thiago Suárez and the attacks of Yusniel González, narrowing the gap. The fourth set was a nail-biter, with constant ties. Thiago gave Cuba set point, and Jakdiel Contreras sealed it with a block to force a decisive tie-break.
The fifth set was a rollercoaster. Argentina surged ahead 13-8, but Cuba rallied to level at 13-13 after capitalizing on errors. With the score locked at 14-14, Cabañas delivered a crushing spike and then forced a Cuban net violation to clinch the battle for the South Americans.
Argentina took advantage of 33 Cuban errors (against 25 of their own), while Cuba led in attacks (61-58), blocks (14-12), and service aces (9-8).
Argentinean team captain, Pablo Cabañas led all scorers with 29 points (25 attacks, one block, three aces), followed by Nahuel Rojas with 22. For Cuba, Alejandro González tallied 22 points, Yusniel González added 20, and Bryan Camino finished with 17.
Action continues Monday in Pool B with Argentina vs. Brazil and Cuba vs. Dominican Republic.
Argentina’s coach Damian Arredondo said about his team’s victory: “We have a young group, a mix of U19 and U23 players, so we knew we would have ups and downs. We held on and resisted Cuba’s attack and serve, playing smart when it mattered. We struggled with Cuba’s serving pressure. We had the tie-break almost sealed, and Cuba’s coach made a good substitution with a player who opened the game with his serve; the win was heroic.”
Cuba’s middle blocker Thiago Suárez said: “It was a tough match. We are known for being fighters, and even when we were two sets down, we hadn’t given up. We managed to push it to five sets, unfortunately we couldn’t get the victory, but we will improve for the next match.”
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