SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 30, 2026. – Colombia captured the first title in its history in the men’s volleyball tournament at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 with a 3-2 (25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 17-25, 15-12) victory over Puerto Rico in a thrilling final that shifted from Colombia’s dominance in the opening two sets to a remarkable Puerto Rican comeback before the South Americans regained control in the decisive fifth set.
Colombia claimed its first-ever Central American and Caribbean Games men’s volleyball title, adding the gold medal to the silver it earned at Barranquilla 2018. The championship capped an outstanding tournament for the South Americans, who played four of their five matches in five sets. Puerto Rico, meanwhile, collected its sixth silver medal, to go along with five golds and five bronze medals, for a total of 16 medals.
Colombia set the tone from the opening whistle with an efficient offense led by opposite Miguel Ángel Martínez and a solid performance at the net to take the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-21. Puerto Rico responded with determination, significantly raising the intensity of its blocking while relying on outside hitter Klistan Lawrence to lead its offense, winning the third and fourth sets 25-16 and 25-17 to force a tiebreaker.
In the fifth set, the team coached by Paolo Montagnani regained its composure and built an early advantage. Although Puerto Rico cut the deficit to a single point, Colombia answered in the decisive moments, extended its lead once again, and sealed the historic 15-12 victory.
Colombia held a 60-55 advantage in attacks, while Puerto Rico dominated blocking 14-8. Both teams recorded four aces, and the Puerto Ricans committed fewer unforced errors (26-30).
Opposite Miguel Ángel Martínez paced Colombia with 22 points, while outside hitter Juan Felipe Castañeda added 18 and middle blocker Daniel Aponza contributed 13. For Puerto Rico, outside hitter Klistan Lawrence led all scorers with 24 points, opposite Jair Santiago added 14, and middle blocker Eliel Salva finished with 12.
Colombia’s head coach Paolo Montagnani praised his team’s resilience after Puerto Rico’s comeback.
“We played the first two sets fantastically, but Puerto Rico is a very good team and they never gave up. They had a fantastic side-out. But my team has something special. This is a team of spectacular guys.”
Puerto Rico’s head coach Jamille Torres lamented letting the title slip away but praised the effort of his players.
“The first set hurt us. We had an 18-16 lead and let it slip away, and there were many challenges throughout the match. Nobody wants to lose a final like this, but I’m proud of the guys. We won a silver medal that feels like gold.”
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