Day one closes with exciting victory for Honduras

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, March 11, 2013. – Honduras edged Costa Rica in the closing match of day one of the X Central American Games to join men’s defending champions Panama and Guatemala with opening victories.

In Pool A, Honduras took the first victory over the home team in thrilling five sets while in Pool B, Panama and Guatemala sealed their triumphs in three sets.

Panama 3, Belize 0

Defending champions Panama earned their first win by defeating Belize 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16) on Monday.

Panama had a 12-2 advantage in service points. Ruben Cuero with 14 points and Donaldo Ureña with 12 topped the scores of the winners.

“The team does not have the chance to play more frequently and that’s why it’s difficult to stay in shape and attain more progress,” Panamanian captain Ricardo Brown said.

Guatemala 3, Nicaragua 0

Guatemala debuted wining over Nicaragua 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-15) with a superior margin in blocking and service points of 11-5 and 5-2 respectively. The best scorer for Guatemala was Andy Leonardo with 16 points while Luis Garcia and Oscar Garcia contributed with 9 each. For Nicaragua, David Mayorga was the best scorer with 14 points.

“I saw the team playing well, we have a good squad. The anxiety of the beginning of a tournament showed,” said Jose Gonzalez, Guatemala’s captain who wasn’t able to play due to an injury during practice.

Honduras 3, Costa Rica 2

Honduras scored a spectacular win over Costa Rica 3-2 (25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 18-25, 15-11) in the closing match of the day one. The Hondurans were by far superior in blocking (11-4) and in service points (8-4).

Honduras’ Luis Salgado scored 29 points while Costa Rica’s Richard Smith had a match-high 30 points. Carlos Osorio and Evans Torres each had 14 points for the winners and Esteban Araya and Jeffrey Calderon finished with 11 and 10 for the losers.

“Costa Rica is a splendid team and they made things difficult for us; we slowed down in the third and they took advantage. It’s very common to extend the match to five sets when both teams have a high level,” expressed Honduras’ captain, Luis Membreño.