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GUADALAJARA, Mexico, April 11, 2010 – The Puerto
Rican selection dominated Mexico 3-0 today,
taking the bronze medal in one of the fiercest
and most exciting games in the NORCECA
Continental Boys Youth Tournament, which
concludes today in the city of Guadalajara.
At the Pan American Volleyball Stadium, with a
seating capacity of 3,200 spectators, the PR
team knew how to organize their serve and
blockage to beat the host team with set scores
of 29-27, 28-26 and 25-23, in this competition
which grants a direct pass to the Singapore 2010
Youth Olympic Games.
The winning team was able to tune out cheering
Mexican fans patiently solidified the victory at
the end of each set. This required furious
determination given the unwavering resistance
put up by the locals in front of an audience
that demanded of them to win. The Mexican team
didn’t do well on reception and didn’t move
their play quickly enough, a combination that
limited their ability to counterattack.
From Puerto Rico, Corner player Raynel Sanchez
played well, scoring 23 points, followed by
Middle Ramon Burgos (15) and Attacker Receiver
Christian Rivera (11). From the home team, the
biggest point contributor was Sergio Perez with
10 units while Middle Marco Rodrigo added 9
points.
This competition grants the champion a pass to
the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games plus two
passes to the World Championship in the cadet
category. The final match will be disputed
between Cuba and the United States.
Cuban-born Coach Ramon Lawrence, PR Technical
Director, commented that something positive was
the reaction his team had after being defeated
by Cuba, “it was a magnificent match as it isn’t
easy to play with the public against you and my
athletes held their heads high.”
Middle player Ramon Burgos, PR Team Captain,
said to be happy that “confrontation was very
even. At the beginning, we were adjusting our
blocking and defense. We were anxiously looking
forward to this victory and this medal was a
motivation since the gold was no longer an
option for us.”
Justo
Arias, Head Coach for Mexico, said that this
time he wasn’t upset with his players, “they
gave their all for every point in a very even
game where the differences were really
psychological and tactical. I feel that we must
know how to impose ourselves on the enemy and to
have the mental strength to manage the decisive
moments of each set.”
Setter Jonathan Ponce, Team Captain for Mexico,
said that it was a very passionate match for
both teams and “not once did we think to give up
on winning; we were in for the fight.”
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