Chile opens with close victory over Canada

PANAMA CITY, Panama, June 22, 2011 – Chile opened the U-21 Men’s Pan American Volleyball Cup with a 3-2 victory over Canada (15-25, 25-19, 28-26, 17-25, 15-11) at Roberto Duran Arena in the Panamanian capital.

Brothers Vicente and Tomas Parraguirre were the best for Chile with 20 and 17 points respectively, followed by Domenico Giuria with 10. Canada’s Nicholas Hoag had a match-high 23 points while Alexander Davis and Daniel Moreau had 12 and 10.

Chile’s coach Daniel Nejamkin said his players were able to capitalize the errors made by the Canadian side despite the good start by the defeated side.

Captain Tomas Parraguirre said his team “went out with a winning mentality and took advantage of the opportunities.”

Canada’s coach Georges Laplante said his team was ready to take the victory “but suffered from lapses and made errors in some key moments which complicated the game.”

Tyler Sanders, the captain of Canada, agreed with his coach admitting there was a chance to win the match and said that they will battle for the qualification in their next match against Mexico.