Costa Rica finishes in 7th place of U-19 NORCECA

HAVANA, Cuba, June 29, 2016 – Costa Rica team scored its unique triumph versus Antigua and Barbuda 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-10) and so they finished in the 7th place  of the NORCECA Boys U-19 Championship which will be closed today at the Sports City Coliseum.

Costa Rican player, Mariano Salas, was the only one who had double-digits (15) in a match which lasted barely an hour and where the winners led the attack (30-8) and service (9-0); whereas their opponents excelled in block (9-0) and Amoy Lee was the squad best scorer with 9 points.

 Arturo Solano, coach of Costa Rica, expressed “we deserved this victory as we won such merit in the first games. Our physical features, like the other Central Americas, make the difference as the height averages of United States, Cuba and Mexico are higher. It does not happen in playing system where there is no much disparity.”

The setter, Luis A. Murillo, stated “it is always good to gain experience, particularly in a tournament with top-level teams from who we have come to learn. Every one of us is returning home happily for the effort made and the knowledge acquired.”

Cairon Davis, Caribbean coach, also referred that despite not having won the match, “we did gain experience. We need much more skill, aggressiveness, self-confidence, better work on pass. They are aspects which we must develop.”

Costa Rica finished in the 4th position in A Pool after losing against Dominican Republic (2-3), United States (0-3) and Nicaragua (2-3). In the matches for 5th – 8th places, they were defeated by Jamaica (0-3).

Antigua and Barbuda finished with five losses in a row without winning a set, three of them in B Pool against Cuba, Mexico and Jamaica, and then versus Dominican Republic for the fifth place and Costa Rica for the 7th position.