PONCE, Puerto Rico, August 23, 2026.- Puerto Rico opened the NORCECA Men’s Final Six with a hard fought 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22) victory over the Dominican Republic at the Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium in Ponce.
After splitting the first two sets, Puerto Rico prevailed in a closely contested third set. Ismael Alomar put the hosts at set point 24-23 with an attack through the middle, and Pelegrín Vargas followed with a block on Adrián José Figueroa Lantigua to close the set 25-23.
The Dominican Republic battled back in the fourth set, erasing a deficit to tie the score at 21 following a Puerto Rico attacking error. Moisés Alexander Ortiz Valdez then blocked Klistan Lawrence Vidal to give the Dominicans a 22-21 lead.
Puerto Rico responded by scoring the final four points of the match. Vargas helped the hosts regain the lead with an attack, and Jonathan Rodríguez sealed the 25-22 set and the victory with an ace.
Puerto Rico held advantages of 58-42 in attacks, 12-9 in blocks, and 7-3 in aces. The Dominican Republic committed 21 errors compared to Puerto Rico’s 38.
Pedro Molina led Puerto Rico with a match-high 20 points, while Lawrence and Vargas contributed 15 points each.
For the Dominican Republic, Ortiz Valdez and Héctor Alexis Cruz Cepín scored 14 points apiece, while Edwad Domingo Rojas De Jesús added 10.
Puerto Rico will return to the court on Monday against Canada, while the Dominican Republic will face Mexico in search of its first victory of the tournament.
Arnel Cabrera, captain of Puerto Rico: “We’ve been having success against the Dominican Republic in recent matches. They’re always tough, hard-fought games, and we came mentally prepared for a strong match because we know the level of demand this tournament brings, especially playing in front of our home crowd.”
Henry Tapia, captain of the Dominican Republic: “Our impressions of the match, despite the result, were good. Sometimes you lose focus and then regain your timing. We consider it a good match. Reception and defense were really the main factors that led us to lose, but we understand that we can make adjustments in those areas for the upcoming matches.”
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