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Dominicans are crowned at U20 Pan American Cup

 

   

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, April 24, 2015 – The Dominican Republic captured the gold medal at the U20 Women’s Pan American Cup by defeating Argentina 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 25-15) in front of a noisy crowd of over 3,000 spectators at Ricardo Arias Pavilion of Santo Domingo on Friday night.

 

Gaila Gonzalez, who was named the Most Valuable Player, had a tournament-high 26 points to lead four Dominican players with double digits in the scores. Jineiry Martinez followed with 20 points while Natalia Martinez and Maria Garcia contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.

 

Maria Corbalan was the top offensive player for Argentina with 21 points followed by Anahi Tosi who had 15 points.

 

Candelaria Herrera and Candela Nota had 8 points apiece in the loss.

 

The winners led in attacks (58-35) and the losers had the edge in blocks (12-11) and scored 10 aces to 4 by the eventual champions.

 

“Thanks to God we won this medal,” said Yocaty Perez, the captain of Dominican Republic. “We wanted this victory and went out to get it. Now we need to continue working in our concentration and every aspect of the game.”

 

“We had good and bad moments but they (Dominicans) were the best team and it was a great experience for us to play in this tournament,” said Azul Benitez, the captain of Argentina.

 

“It was a difficult game and we played well for the first two sets,” said Wagner Pacheco, the coach of Dominican Republic. “In the third set the Argentineans killed us with their serves. I am very proud of my players and very proud of my technical staff also.”

 

“They were deserving champions and I am happy of my group and of wearing the shirt of Argentina,” said Mauro Silvestre, the coach of Argentina. “It has been a learning experience for my players and will help their development.”