Cuba cruises past Guatemala to finish undefeated in Pool A

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, April 26, 2019 – Cuba stormed past Guatemala in the third and last day of the preliminary phase of the U19 Boys’ Pan American Volleyball Cup being played at Ricardo Arias Pavilion in Santo Domingo.

Playing in Pool A, Cuba finished Guatemala 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-15) in just over an hour, combining strong services with a clear advantage of size at the net.

As pool winners with a 3-0 win-loss record, the Cubans claimed a direct pass to Sunday’s semifinals. Guatemala finished with 1-2 and a good chance to conclude in third place.

The Cubans held a huge margin in attacks (38-23) blocks (11-2) and aces (6-2).

Victor Andreu led a balanced attack of Cuba with 11 points, followed by Alexei Ramírez and Reynier Ibar each with 9 and Luis David Allen with 8, including five blocks. For Guatemala, David Ismalej and Jason Hernández finished with 9 and 8 points, respectively.

Mario Izquierdo, coach of Cuba: It was a relatively comfortable game for us. As I always say, respecting the opponent. We reached our first goal which was to finish first in the pool phased. Now we will prepare for the semifinals and continue moving on.”

Reider Lucas, coach of Guatemala: “We knew what was waiting for us. To face Cuba the most solid and experienced team in the tournament. What we want is our kids to play volleyball and acquire experience and then we start demanding results.”.