PUEBLA, Mexico, July 24, 2025 – One day before the start of the NORCECA Men’s Final Four, the participating teams are ready to compete for the title of this fifth edition. The coaches shared their impressions and expectations for the tournament, which will be held from July 25 to 27 at the BUAP Arena.
Carlos Eduardo Schwanke, coach of Mexico: “This event will be an opportunity to test the players and our system of play against important opponents, since we are entering the competition without any previous friendly matches, so it is very important for the process we are undertaking with the team.
For us, as a new coaching staff, this is a special occasion because it will be our first competition in Mexico, and we have high expectations from the Mexican public. We hope they will strongly support the team and that it will be a great event for everyone.”
Alberto J. Torres, Puerto Rico coach: “We’re bringing a group similar to the one that played a year ago in Puerto Rico, and we’re bringing three U-21 players. We want to test them in this competition. But after winning this tournament in Puerto Rico, our expectation is to win here as well.
They’re a young team, but already have a lot of international experience, and there are some very iconic players in Puerto Rico who will be participating in this event, and we hope to put on a great show for the Mexican public.”
José Gutiérrez, coach of the Dominican Republic: “The foundation of our team is 11 U-23 players, and our goal in this competition is to give them experience as part of their preparation for the Junior Pan American Games, which will be held in August in Asunción, Paraguay. In this transition and long-term generational change, we are proposing, they are accompanied by our captain, Román Tapia, a 33-year-old key figure on the Dominican team.
Mexico has been the home of men’s events for many years, and we know the passion that exists among the fans who support their teams, so we expect a spectacular event as always.”
Reider Lucas, Guatemala coach, said: “We’re coming with a fairly young team because we prioritized preparation for the Junior Panamanian Games in Paraguay. 10 players are from this team, and some of them are also from the senior team.
We know we’re coming to a high-level event in the NORCECA region, and all the teams are very well prepared. We want to take advantage of the opportunity to raise our level of play by going out to fight in every match.”
The teams had the opportunity to conduct field reconnaissance training today, and tomorrow they will begin their matches with the Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico match at 6:00 PM.
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