NARANJITO, Puerto Rico, November 14, 2024. – The reigning champions of the Men’s Superior Volleyball League (LVSM), the Caribes de San Sebastián, completed a sweep of the runner-up Changos de Naranjito in Semifinal B on Thursday, November 14, winning the series in four matches.
The Caribes dropped only two sets throughout the series and eliminated the Changos with nine straight set wins, sealing their victory at the legendary Gelito Ortega court in this municipality.
Dr. Angelo Ferrante Cruz, owner of the Caribes, shared after the win: “I’m very happy. I thought it would be tougher. The Changos are a great team and a strong opponent, but the Caribes have been inspired and focused. There’s no doubt we’re aiming for that back-to-back championship, and with God’s favor, we’re just four games away from achieving it.”
Regarding the other semifinal between the Mets de Guaynabo and the Cafeteros de Yauco, which is guaranteed to reach at least six games and considering that the final series would begin just two days after the conclusion of that series, Dr. Ferrante added: “Well, there’s not much time to rest. Tomorrow, Friday (today), we’ll rest, but by Saturday, we’ll be back on the court practicing and preparing for both potential opponents. That series seems to be going long, and we need to be ready for either contender to ultimately win the championship as we aspire to.”
“We encourage the fans of San Sebastián and the fans of the other team that advances to the final to support us, to support volleyball. We rely on that support, on that ‘seventh player’ in the stands. Without a doubt, all of Puerto Rico knows that San Sebastián has the best volleyball fans, thanks to God,” concluded Ferrante Cruz.
The scores in San Sebastián’s victory were 25-21, 27-25, and 25-21.
The Caribes outperformed Changos 44-34 in attacks, 9-5 in blocks, 6-1 in aces, and 26-25 in digs. Both teams tallied 37 receptions each, while the home team led in assists 22-17.
Caribes’ offensive leaders in double digits included their import Jalen Penrose with 22 points, all from attacks, followed by Pelegrín Vargas with 16 points and Pedro Nieves with 7.
For the Changos de Naranjito, Félix Chapman scored 10 points, Ángel Rivera had 9, and Adrián Iglesias contributed 7.
SEMIFINAL B SERIES
GAME #1 – Thursday, November 7 – 8:00 PM
Naranjito at San Sebastián – 2-3 (25-20, 25-18, 17-25, 22-25, 15-12).
GAME #2 – Saturday, November 9 – 8:00 PM
San Sebastián at Naranjito – 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 27-25).
GAME #3 – Tuesday, November 12 – 8:00 PM
Naranjito at San Sebastián – 0-3 (25-23, 25-20, 25-21).
GAME #4 – Thursday, November 14 – 8:00 PM
San Sebastián at Naranjito – 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-21).
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