Dominicans top Pool A at U-18 Cup

TIJUANA, Mexico, July 5 2011 - Dominican Republic finished the first round on top of Pool A and qualified directly to the semifinals of the Girls’ U18 Pan American Cup after an impressive 3-0 win over Peru (25-18, 25-14, 25-12).

Brayelin Martinez finished with 18 points leading the winners, while Pamela Soriano tallied 14 and Luz Divina Nuez, 11. Peru’s captain, Milagros Rodriguez scored 8 and Rosa Valiente 7.

“At the beginning I thought this was going to be a hard and difficult match, but we only had to believe in ourselves it was fun to win”, said Dominican captain Pamela Soriano.

“Physical preparation must be good to resist in this kind of matches, and now we only had to wait and see who will be our rival in the semifinals,” said Dominican coach Wilson Sánchez.

“I think the Dominican team did a great job, and tomorrow we will find a better chance”, stated Manuel Artieda, Peru’s coach.

Dominican Republic will play the semifinal and is waiting for its rival at tis time. For Peru there will be another chance to go on in the tournament, by playing the quarterfinals against Chile who finished third in Pool B.