PARAMARIBO, Suriname, September 16, 2024.- The Men’s U23 Pan American Cup kicked off with Cuba’s 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-22) victory over Costa Rica at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal in Paramaribo, Suriname.
The U23 Pan American Cup runs from September 16 -22 and offers two berths for non-qualified NORCECA teams for the 2025 Asunción II Junior Pan American Games.
Cuba’s next opponent in Pool A is the Dominican Republic, while Costa Rica will face Mexico.
Cuba led in kills 46-29, in blocks 7-6, and in aces 6-1, but committed more unforced errors, 20-16.
Cuban outside hitter Bryan Camino led all scorers with 21 points (17 attacks, a match-high of 4 aces). Fellow outside hitter Yusniel González contributed 11 points (10 attacks, one block).
Costa Rican middle blocker Jeremy Venega led his team with 9 points (4 attacks, a match-high of 5 blocks).
Cuba quickly jumped to a 4-0 lead with a block from Jakdiel Contreras and capitalized on Costa Rica’s errors. In the second set, the Central Americans performed better, taking advantage of Cuba’s mistakes as Cuba used a different lineup, pulling even at 20 points with a block from Jeremy Venega and Harold Rodriguez, along with a kill from Franco Molina. Daniel Martinez and Bryan Camino closed the set for Cuba. Costa Rica surprised in the third set, taking a 4-0 lead and holding the lead throughout the set until Cuba recovered from a five-point deficit and climbed up to a 25-22 finish with a 16-12 margin in kills.
Ronaldo Flaquet, captain of Cuba: “We got overconfident. This match helped us shake off the rust. We knew how to come back from a big deficit in the third set; we are an experienced team and knew how to resolve it. Starting with a win is good for the team”.
Andru Jones, captain of Costa Rica: “This was clearly a difficult match, against a worthy opponent. I feel we started getting into rhythm, this is a process, and each set was better than the previous one. We hope to keep improving in the coming matches, reach a good performance, and aim for a medal”.
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