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MEXICO CITY, Mexico, May 25, 2016.-
Costa Rica beat Honduras 3-2 (25-21, 25-27,
20-25, 28-26, 15-11) a Central American classic that decided the
last positions at the XI Men’s Pan American Cup at Olympic
Gymnasium Juan de la Barrera in Mexico City.
Costa Rica dismantled Honduras’ backrow enabling their recovery
from a four point deficit in the tie-break. Costa Rica finishes
in ninth place, with 1-3 win-loss record and Honduras with a 0-5
mark.
Costa Rica held advantage in spikes 64-54 and 12-8 in the
blocking category. Honduras was better in serves by only one
point 4-3 and committed less errors (34-44) than Costa Rica.
Outside hitter Alberto Blanco led Costa Rica’s victory on a
match-high of 20 points, on eighteen spikes, one block and one
ace; joined by Julio Alvarez with 17 points, middle blockers
Javier Alvarez and Luis Lopez with 11 and 10 points
respectively. Honduras’ top scorers were Frank Alley (19), Luis
Salgado (15), Ornello Watler (11) and Wilfredo Lopez (10).
Captain Esteban Araya of Costa Rica said “we lost our way of
doing things and that turned the match difficult; our effective
spikes and sticking to our game plan contributed in a
significate advantage. We learned a lot and now we must apply
what we learned”.
Costa Rica’s coach Cesar Salas said “we always play tie-breakers
against Honduras; it’s a Central American classic. We lost to
Honduras on two previous occasions. This was a wonderful
experience for the team and now we must evaluate and straighten
things out”. |
