Cuba claims spot in the final match

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 28, 2011 – Cuba sealed a spot in the finals of the men’s volleyball tournament at the Pan American Games by prevailing against hosts Mexico 25-21, 25-27, 28-30, 25-15, 17-15 in a nail biting five-setter on Friday night.

Cuba will play World and Pan American champions Brazil for the gold medal while Mexico goes against Argentina for the bronze.

Raydel Hierrezuelo blocked the spike attempt of Mexico’s Ivan Contreras for the final point of the match.

Wilfredo Leon was the top producer for Cuba with 29 points followed by Rolando Cepeda, Henry Bell and Fernando Hernandez with 15, 14 and 13 respectively. Mexico’s Contreras had a match-high 30 points while Tomas Aguilera (17), Samuel Cordova (11) and Gustavo Meyer (10) also had double figures in the scores.

Wilfredo Leon (Captain of Cuba): “Today we went out to develop a good match. We had some fouls but we knew how to recover. This was very important for us.”

Ivan Contreras (Captain of Mexico): “I feel good for having the chance to bring and play at this kind of level in Mexico, but at the same time I am disappointed, because I feel that I just needed to swing and live a dream to make history. I am glad for the support of the public but I don’t feel satisfied at all because of the result.”

Orlando Samuels (Coach of Cuba): “Mexico played with faith, desire and courage. We were out of rhythm and had some difficult moments. Both of us deserved to win. We have played 25 or 30 matches with an average of 3-0, and this one was so complicated and we won on the edge.”

Jorge Azair (Coach of México): “It is difficult to talk after a match like this and after losing a match like this. I am very proud because we were playing against the second best team of the world that also plays 50 matches a year.”