Brazil gets stronger with every set against Mexico

GATINEAU, Canada, June 13, 2011- Vinicius Siqueira and Paulo Silva scored 11 points each and three more players contributed 10 apiece as Brazil downed Mexico 25-22, 25-20, 25-15 in the opening match for both countries at the Pan Am Cup men’s volleyball tournament.

‘’We are happy with the result,’’ said Brazil’s coach Flavio Marinho.  ‘’But it was hard because we didn’t really know the Mexican team.  So we had to adjust during the match.  We didn’t play our best but we hope to reach that during the competition.’’

‘’It was a tense match,’’ said Brazil’s captain Anderson Rodrigues.  ‘’Both teams were trying to adjust and for us this was our first official match of the season.’’

Raphael Oliveira, Thiago Sens and Douglas Cordeiro also reached double digits for the victors who fielded their squad that is preparing for the World Military Games. Marco Macias was the top scorer for Mexico with 11.

‘’They were a great team today,’’ said Mexican captain Jorge Quinones.  ‘’We couldn’t control their serves and that complicated everything.  We tried to play better and we played hard.’’

‘’We started well,’’ said Mexico’s head coach Jorge Azair.  ‘’Our players worked hard to receive Brazil’s serve but we couldn’t maintain that pace.  We need to be more consistent.’’