COLIMA, Mexico, June 22, 2024. – Costa Rica claimed sixth place over Nicaragua with a 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-15, 25-15) victory at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup on Saturday in Colima, Mexico.
Costa Rica finished the event with a 1-3 record, while Nicaragua ended with 0-5.
Costa Rica led the match with a 51-46 advantage in attacks, a 13-8 margin in blocks, and a 4-3 lead in aces. They also benefited from Nicaragua’s 25 errors compared to their own 17.
The top scorers for Costa Rica were Derek Farley, who scored 17 points on 13 attacks, 3 blocks, and 1 ace; followed by Ethan Smith with 15 points on 13 attacks and 2 aces; and Deymian López with 11 points on 10 attacks and 1 ace.
For Nicaragua, Joaquín Padilla scored 18 points on 16 attacks, 1 block, and 1 ace. Keneth Urtecho contributed 15 points on 12 attacks and 2 blocks.
Eladio Vargas, Coach of Costa Rica, said, “We had ups and downs with the players; at some point, we had to place them in different positions. These are kids whose morale fluctuates, which is natural at this age. Today, the player who won us the match didn’t have the same spirit yesterday”.
Jorge Mena, Coach of Nicaragua, said, “We lost our spirit. We played better yesterday and definitely with more enthusiasm. We have a team that knows how to play. Yesterday’s five-set match exhausted them physically, and we need to keep working on getting the athletes committed to training”
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