MANAGUA, Nicaragua, September 25, 2024.- Belize secured their first victory by defeating Guatemala 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 26-28, 25-21) at the start of the second day of the AFECAVOL U17 Central American Girls’ Championship.
Belize showed more organization and strength in attack, especially with captain Akili Jones, who scored 27 points, six of them from serves. Emaun Marín finished with 19 points, four of them from blocks and 14 from attacks. For Guatemala, Melissa Guerra ended with 13 points, and Natalia Pérez with 9.
Belize outperformed in attack 41-34, in blocks 10-4, while Guatemala took the advantage in serves 13-11. Belize committed 39 errors compared to Guatemala’s 36.
On Thursday, on the third day of competition, Guatemala will face Costa Rica at 1:30 p.m., and Belize will play against Nicaragua at 6:30 p.m.
Akili Jones, captain of Belize: “We enjoyed today’s match. We are very excited, it’s our first win of the tournament, and we’re really hoping to win more. Yesterday we were off our game; we didn’t play at our best level. Today, we regrouped and played harder”.
José Fontés, Head coach of Belize: “Yes, it was a hard-fought victory, but it’s a very important one, especially because, as I’ve said from the beginning, the goal is to keep growing and improving our game. Today, we did very well in the first two sets, the first one was played well and very effectively with our serve. Afterward, we dropped off a little, but that’s normal in these types of events and at this age. A very important factor is that we played with two athletes, one aged 15 and the other 13, on the court, and that makes me very happy with how they handled the situations at such a young age”.
Julio Dominguez, Head coach of Guatemala: “This tournament was created to develop the level in the region, and that’s how it is: you win some, you lose some. But today, we saw a very high level for this age group. I believe the team needs to make more tactical adjustments, become more disciplined, so they can keep fighting for the medals. We have a situation with the players where emotions play a very important role. But we’re going to keep fighting, trusting in God that we’ll stay strong because we still have more matches ahead”.
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