GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, August 8, 2026.- In a thrilling match that lasted more than two hours, Puerto Rico came from behind to defeat host Guatemala 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 30-32, 25-21, 15-8) at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup at the Multi-Sports Dome in Guatemala City.
On Sunday, Puerto Rico will play for fifth place at 12:00 p.m., while Guatemala will compete for seventh place at 10:00 a.m.
Puerto Rico’s offense performed better in the first set, allowing them to take a narrow lead and win the set by three points. In the second, Guatemala improved its performance and took advantage of several unforced errors by Puerto Rico to even the match.
Guatemala recovered from a four-point deficit in a hard-fought third set and eventually prevailed 32-30 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Puerto Rico responded in the fourth, regained control and forced a fifth set, where they took an early lead and closed out the match 15-8.
Five Puerto Rican players scored in double figures. Gabriel Soto, Josué Machín and Adrián Córdova finished with 13 points apiece, with Córdova also standing out with six blocks. Antonio Figueroa contributed 11 points and Sebastián Colón added 10.
For Guatemala, Javier Pérez led all scorers with 19 points, Óscar Velásquez finished with 17 and Eduardo Palala contributed 11.
Puerto Rico held the advantage over Guatemala in all three scoring categories: 58-50 in attacks, 15-11 in blocks and 4-1 in aces.
Puerto Rico head coach Hernán Torres said the frustration from the team’s earlier losses affected their concentration.
“The frustration from the losses in our first matches caused our team to lose focus, and we almost paid a high price for it. Now I’m evaluating which players are making a positive contribution so I can keep them on the court and find the solutions we still need in our game.”
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