David, Chiriquí, Panama, September 26, 2023 – Demonstrating determination and courage, Guatemala once again came from behind to defeat Belize 3-2 (29-31, 19-25, 25-12, 25-22, 15-8) on the third day of the VI AFECAVOL Men’s U23 Central American Championship at La Basita Sports Center.
It was the second consecutive victory and the second in five sets for Guatemala, who is aiming to reclaim the title lost last year and reach five titles in this age-group.
José Pablo Pérez was once again the inspiration for Guatemala with 24 points (22 attacks, one block, one ace). Javier Lucero contributed 12 points (10 attacks, one block, one ace).
Three players led Belize’s scoreboard, with Kaelen Ingram scoring 21 points (16 attacks, 2 blocks, 3 aces), Ernest Broaster with 20 points (17 attacks, one block, two aces), and Kerwin Palacio with 11 points (8 attacks, 3 blocks).
Guatemala led in attacks 56-49 and in serves 6-5. Belize maintained a significant advantage in blocks at 12-5 but committed 46 unforced errors compared to Guatemala’s 32.
On Wednesday, Guatemala will face El Salvador at 2:30 p.m. (Panama time), while Belize will take on Panama at 7:30 p.m.
AFECAVOL SUB23 MASCULINO, PANAMÁ
QUOTES
Reider Lucas, coach of Guatemala: “Belize has a great group, a good team. They started with super good rhythm, that first set could have gone either way, in the second we couldn’t, in the third we made some adjustments. In the end, the guys managed to concentrate and adapt to the game because Belize couldn’t keep up that pace of play; it was very difficult”.
Javier Lucero, captain of Guatemala: “It was a quite competitive match, but we are very happy because we got the results we expected. I think we came in very anxious, desperate to win the match, and that’s where other teams take advantage. But we know how to recover, play coming from behind because that’s what we always train for”.
Albert Humes, coach of Belize: “We knew that Guatemala was a force to reckon with in the tournament, yesterday when we saw their game, we noticed a weak point and tried to work on that with our resources. I think our focus disappeared in the game, and we deviated from the strategy we had planned. This is one of our problems, focus, and I believe the mental aspect will come as we play more at this level, as our boys haven’t been together, some are away. In the end, we know we played very well”.
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