PONCE, Puerto Rico, August 29, 2026. – Mexico won the bronze medal at the 2026 NORCECA Men’s Final Six after defeating host Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-21, 25-18, 21-25, 24-26, 15-12) in a five-set battle at the Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium.
Mexico took control by winning the opening two sets and, after Puerto Rico forced a decisive fifth set, recovered from an early deficit in the tie-break to secure third place.
This is Mexico’s third bronze medal and fourth overall medal in Final Six history. Mexico won gold in 2021 and previously earned bronze in 2023 and 2024.
Yasutaka Sanay and Franky Hernández led Mexico with 18 points apiece, followed by Diego González with 16 and Axel Téllez with 13.
Puerto Rico’s Pelegrín Vargas finished as the match’s leading scorer with 27 points, followed by Klistan Lawrence Vidal with 11 and Ismael Alomar with 10.
Mexico held the advantage in attacks (65-60), blocks (15-7), and aces (8-3). Puerto Rico committed 22 errors, while Mexico registered 32.
After Mexico established a two-set advantage, Puerto Rico responded in the third. The hosts broke a 20-20 tie and scored five of the final six points to take the set 25-21 and extend the match.
The fourth set remained close throughout. Puerto Rico tied the score at 19 with a block on Yasutaka Sanay’s attack from zone four, and the teams continued trading points through 24-24. Pelegrín Vargas then scored from zone four before an attack error by Franky Hernández gave Puerto Rico the set 26-24 and forced the tie-break.
Puerto Rico opened the fifth set with a 4-1 lead, but Mexico quickly responded. An ace by Miguel Ángel García leveled the score at 4-4, and neither team was able to pull away.
The final tie came at 12-12 following an attack by Vargas from zone four. Mexico then scored three consecutive points to close the match and secure the bronze medal.
Diego González – Mexico
“I feel we deserved it. We have worked for a long time, and Puerto Rico has always been our archrival. We’re one and one, and we wanted to win here at their home because they have beaten us in ours. It wasn’t about getting back at them, but I’m happy. Everyone did their job. We got a little overconfident, which is why the match went to a fifth set, but I think we did well.
“For the rest of our commitments, I think we need to gain rhythm. Our next tournament is in Canada. We know it will be tough, but we are ready. We’ve seen what we can do, so why not aim to win there?”
Carlos Schwanke – Head Coach of Mexico
“That’s what I wanted: to see the fight for third place, for the bronze medal. Sometimes it’s hard to motivate players after losing the opportunity to reach the final. But they played well, served well, and played as a team. Puerto Rico is a good and very strong team. We played a little better at the end of the fifth set and took home the bronze. That’s good.
“For Mexico’s remaining commitments, I expect constant improvement. That’s what we’re looking for, especially regarding the world ranking. These matches against Puerto Rico give us a lot of points, so it’s very important to leave this tournament with two victories over them.”
Arnel Cabrera – Captain of Puerto Rico
“We came prepared for a physically and emotionally demanding tournament. It’s our fourth tournament of the summer, and perhaps we felt some of the physical toll. But that’s sports. Now we have to regroup, look at what we did wrong, correct what we can, and execute in the most important tournament remaining this summer. We remain optimistic. We know it’s not the result we wanted, but we have a positive mindset for what lies ahead.”
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