CUERNAVACA, Morelos, July 12, 2025. – Mexico secured its place in the final of the Boys’ U19 Pan American Cup after an exciting four-set victory (25-19, 19-25, 25-23, 29-27) over Venezuela at the Gymnasium of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM).
This marks the fifth consecutive time that Mexico has reached the gold medal match in the history of the tournament, having won the title only once, in 2017 against Chile. In the 2019, 2022, and 2023 finals, Mexico fell to Cuba and the United States, respectively. Now, playing at home, they will look to break that streak.
Venezuela will face Canada in the third-place match.
The ending could not have been more dramatic, as Venezuela tried to force a tie-break, but a decisive block by Carlos Grajeda sealed the Mexican victory with a thrilling 29-27 score in the fourth set.
Mexico led in attacks (62-48) and service aces (5-1), while Venezuela dominated at the net with more blocks (14-9). Mexico committed more unforced errors, 31 against Venezuela’s 22.
Arnoldo Hurtado led Mexico’s offense with 21 points (18 attacks, 2 blocks), followed by Emi Díaz with 15 and Carlos Grajeda with 13. For Venezuela, Neyver Zabala scored 13 points, while Gandy Lugo and Harold Larez added 12 each.
At the end of the match, Mexico’s head coach Iván Nieto said: “It was a very tough match. Our opposite hitter, Arnoldo Hurtado, got injured in the final points of the game. It was dramatic, but we made it through with five players. I’m very happy to reach the final”.
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