MORELOS, Mexico, August 14, 2026.- Guatemala defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 27-25) and advanced to the seventh-place match of the 2026 Men’s Pan American Cup, being held at Poliforum 2 of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM).
On Saturday, Guatemala and Costa Rica will battle for seventh place in an all-Central American matchup, while Trinidad and Tobago and Curaçao will meet in an all-Caribbean contest for ninth place.
Guatemala took the first two sets by identical 25-21 scores. Trinidad and Tobago came close to extending the match in the third, reaching set point with a 24-22 lead, but Guatemala responded to tie the score at 24-24 before eventually closing out the match 27-25.
Guatemala prevailed with an advantage in attacks (50-34) and committed fewer unforced errors (20-23). Trinidad and Tobago held a huge advantage in blocks (11-4) and serves (2-0).
Carlos López and José Pablo Pérez were Guatemala’s leading scorers with 18 and 14 points, respectively. Daynte Stewart led Trinidad and Tobago with 14 points, followed by Michael Burkett with 11.
José Pablo Pérez of Guatemala said: “A win is a win, and that’s what matters, although it wasn’t our best performance and it wasn’t what we expected. We hope to play more comfortably tomorrow and understand each other better so we can play a better match. We need to stay more focused.”
Michael Burkett of Trinidad and Tobago said: “It was a good match; we just didn’t know how to close it out. Tomorrow will be an interesting matchup against Curaçao. We have high hopes, but we know it won’t be easy; the last time we faced them, they beat us.”
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