SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 30, 2026. – Dominican Republic claimed fifth place in the men’s volleyball tournament of the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 after defeating Venezuela in thrilling five sets 3-2 (27-29, 25-23, 20-25, 26-24, 15-12).
The match remained in doubt from start to finish. Venezuela claimed a tightly contested opening set, but the hosts answered to level the match. After the Venezuelans regained the lead by taking the third set, Dominican Republic responded once again with a dramatic 26-24 win in the fourth before prevailing in the deciding fifth set to close the tournament with a victory in front of its home crowd.
Venezuela held a narrow advantage in attacks (65-62) and also led in aces (6-4), while Dominican Republic made the difference at the net with a 13-12 edge in blocks and by committing 21 unforced errors compared to Venezuela’s 29.
Adrián Figueroa led the Dominican offense with 20 points, followed by Moisés Ortíz with 16, Luther Rosario with 14 and Edward Rojas with 13.
Venezuela’s Emerson Rodríguez led all scorers with 27 points, all on kills. Carlos Eduardo Beroes added 20 points, Jesús Gómez scored 12 and Paul Viloria finished with 11.
Dominican Republic head coach Alexander Gutiérrez praised the potential of his squad while acknowledging that the team had hoped for a higher finish.
“We have a team with a good blend of youth and experience. The result was not bad, but it was not what I expected. We have a group capable of aiming higher. We need to keep working because we are very close to reaching a very high level. Now we turn our attention to the upcoming events: the Pan American Cup, the Final Six and, most importantly, the NORCECA Continental Championship, where we hope to qualify for the Olympic Qualifier, which would be a tremendous achievement for this country.”
Venezuela head coach Rubén Wolochin, meanwhile, said his team let the opportunity slip away in the closing stages. “Our team made too many poor decisions, especially in the fourth set. We made the other team look good. Congratulations to the Dominican Republic.”
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