JUAN DOLIO, Dominican Republic, December 14, 2025.– Canada’s Samuel Schachter and Jonathan Pickett were crowned champions of the 2025 NORCECA Tour Finals in Juan Dolio after defeating Cuba’s Damián Gómez and Eblis Veranes in straight sets, 2-0 (21-18, 22-20).
It marked the first NORCECA Tour gold medal for Schachter and Pickett as a team. Schachter previously won silver at the 2024 NORCECA Tour Finals with former partner Dan Dearing and captured gold with Dearing at the 2022 Finals.
“Oh Man! Winning gold is awesome, I’m extremely tired” stated Pickett. “This was a great experience, my first NORCECA Finals with Sam; we were able to get the win here in beautiful Dominican Republic. Now we have a good start for next year moving into the World Tour” he added.
Sam said they were very consistent the whole tournament, “This is something we’ve been working on, so we’re happy with that”. Speaking about the final match “my partner absolutely took over with aces and blocks, you could see how talented he is”. He added “I’m proud of how we are working together as a team. We’re excited to have earned a lot of points”.
El Salvador’s Cristopher and Yoel Guardado secured their first-ever bronze medal on the NORCECA Tour following an exciting three-set victory over Dominican cousins Hayerling and Melvin De Jesús, 2–1 (21–19, 20–22, 18–16). The Guardado twins extended their strong run after claiming their first gold medal at the previous Tour stop in Managua.
The NORCECA Tour Finals award double NORCECA and FIVB ranking points, which are crucial for the upcoming season and major international events. For countries seeking qualification for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, to be held here in Juan Dolio, this tournament represented the final opportunity to secure their place.
In the semifinals, Schachter and Pickett defeated the Dominican duo of De Jesús/De Jesús 2–0 (21–15, 21–11), while Gómez and Veranes advanced to the gold medal match with a 2–0 (21–15, 21–13) victory over the Guardado twins.
Mexico’s Lares/Carlos Andrés claimed fifth place with a 2–0 (21–6, 21–12) win over Venezuela’s Esyenser/Rivero. Guatemala’s Maldonado/Izaguirre finished seventh after Belize’s Hauze/Martínez were unable to compete due to injury.
USA’s Cory/Bradford placed ninth following a 2–0 (21–12, 21–8) victory over Panama’s Araúz/Del Cid. Puerto Rico’s Timm/González earned 11th place after a hard-fought three-set win against St. Kitts & Nevis’ Zendai/Bristol, 2–1 (21–15, 21–23, 15–9).
Grenada’s Hamilton/Zerick finished 13th after the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Mayer/Penberthy were forced to withdraw due to injury. Martinique’s Tao/Rodolphe-Emmanuel secured positions 15/16 with a 2–0 (25–22, 21–5) victory over Antigua’s Cairon/Lugo.
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