GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, July 29, 2025.- Mexico earned a hard-fought first win at the Men’s U23 Pan American Cup, defeating Belize 3-1 (29-31, 25-21, 25-21, 25-22) at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City.
Belize started the match strong, dominating Mexico in the early points (10-8). It wasn’t until point 18 that the Mexicans managed to even the score in the first set. From there, the lead alternated until Belize pulled away by two points to take it 31-29.
The second set followed a similar pattern; except this time it was Mexico who held the lead throughout. The third set was no different, with Mexico staying a couple of points ahead and eventually turning the match around to lead two sets to one.
Mexico’s offense was dominant, outscoring Belize 67-45 in attacks and leading in blocks 7-2. Both teams scored 3 aces from the service line. Belize was unable to capitalize on the 45 unforced errors committed by Mexico during the match.
Leonardo Maldonado was the top scorer with 22 points, 21 of them from attacks. Jorge Ariel Hernández also scored in double digits for Mexico with 17 points, including 16 kills and 1 block.
For Belize, three players finished in double digits: Eleazar Mejía with 17 points (15 kills, 1 block, 1 ace); Hakan Godoy with 10 points (9 kills, 1 block); and Kaelen Ingram with 10 points (all from attacks).
Mexico’s head coach Renato Junior said, “We started very differently from what we talked about before the match, from what we had planned to do. The nerves affected my team, and we couldn’t do much. We have a lot more to improve, and we’re going to do better things during the tournament.”
Belize’s head coach Albert Humes commented, “I’m very proud of my boys. We had a good practice this morning and did even better today in the match against Mexico. Mexico is a very good team, but this shows that our team was ready to face them, is ready for the competition, and has come to make an impact.”
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