LEÓN, Guanajuato, August 29, 2025. – Colombia survived a dramatic five-set battle to defeat Chile 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12) and secure its place in the semifinals of the 18th Senior Men’s Pan American Cup, being held at the Domo de la Feria in León.
Colombia built a two-set lead, but Chile fought back strongly to tie the match and force a decisive fifth set. In the semifinals, the Colombians await their opponent, either Venezuela or Canada, while Chile will play for positions five through eight.
The opening set was intense, with both teams exchanging points. Tied at 10, Colombia pulled ahead with the push of Andrés Piza and Chilean errors, before Leandro Mejía’s blocking stopped Dusan Bonacic from scoring comfortably to close the set.
The second set was equally tight, tied at 21 when Piza powered through the Chilean block, followed by Juan Felipe Castañeda who stopped Vicente Mardones. Mejía was once again crucial to bring Colombia to set point, and Ronald Jiménez denied Vicente Parraguirre to give Colombia a 2-0 lead.
Chile responded in the third set with Bonacic and Ibarra applying pressure from the start. Although Colombia cut the deficit, Chile held on and sealed the set 25-22 after an Ibarra attack and an Amaranto error.
The fourth set was just as close, reaching 23-23. Bonacic took advantage of a deflection off Colombia’s reception, followed by a block from Gabriel Araya and a Colombian mistake that leveled the match 2-2.
In the tiebreak, Colombia came out strong and built a 6-0 lead, but Chile refused to give in and rallied to within 13-9. It was Daniel Aponza who finally sealed the win with an attack for the 15-12 finish.
The statistics reflected the tightness of the match: Colombia led in attacks 65-64 and in blocks 8-7, while Chile held the edge in service points 3-1. Errors were also close, with Chile committing 36 and Colombia 31.
Leandro Mejía led Colombia with 16 points, followed by Juan Castañeda with 15 and Andrés Piza with 12. For Chile, captain Dusan Bonacic topped all scorers with 22 points, all on attacks, with Vicente Parraguirre adding 20 and Vicente Ibarra 15.
After the victory, Andrés Piza highlighted the value of the duel: “Chile is a very structured team, very disciplined, and we knew it was going to be a tough, long match. They showed that they never give up and it’s always difficult to play against them. It was an important South American battle and I’m happy we won it; I’ll enjoy this with my teammates,” he said.
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