PUEBLA, Mexico, July 26, 2025 – Puerto Rico has become increasingly decisive in the NORCECA Men’s Final Four, earning its second victory 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) against Guatemala.
Guatemala started the match with great enthusiasm, just as in the first match yesterday against Mexico, managing to take a couple of points ahead of its opponent during the set. It was in the final points that Puerto Rico stepped up its attacks, distracting Guatemala’s defense, which was unable to contain them.
In the second and third sets, Puerto Rico was far superior throughout. The key to the victory was the huge difference in decisive attacks (43-18). Once again, Pelegrin Vargas led Puerto Rico with 12 points, including 9 on attack and 3 blocks.
Vargas commented: “I think the group has bonded well, and depending on the role I play in each match, I’ll be there for the team as needed. Today we rotated a bit to allow the younger players to play, and we also had to support them.
We have bigger tournaments coming up, so we’re getting back into the swing of things. Personally, I was out of action for 5-6 months, and I think it’s a good return.
I was very surprised by the great organization of the tournament and the warmth of the Mexican crowd, although it certainly won’t be the same tomorrow against them.”
For Guatemala, Jason Hernández scored 7 points, 5 of them on blocks, and their veteran Andy Leonardo scored 6 points, 5 of them on attack and 1 ace.
The captain of Guatemala, Carlos López, shared: “We started off in good spirits again, but as Puerto Rico picked up the pace, we started making more mistakes.
We’re happy with the work the juniors did; this was their opportunity, and they came in to solve many situations in the match well. That’s our intention: to take advantage of the high level of these opponents to gain experience.”
For Guatemala, this is their second loss in the competition, with a match to play tomorrow against the Dominican Republic.
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