Guatemala celebrate their thrilling victory over Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals at U21 Pan American Cup
Fort McMurray, Canada, May 20, 2017 – Guatemala and hosts Canada both advanced to the semifinals of the U21 Men’s Volleyball Pan American Cup at Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre at Keyano College on Friday.
The tournament offers two tickets – one for South America and one for the North, Central American and Caribbean Confederation (NORCECA) - to the FIVB Volleyball U21 World Championship to be held in the Czech Republic from June 23 to July 2.
Guatemala scored a surprising and thrilling 3-2 (25-13, 22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 16-14) victory over Puerto Rico, while Canada defeated Chile 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 22-25, 25-10).
In Saturday’s semifinals, Guatemala meets powerhouse Brazil while Canada faces Cuba in a crucial match for the NORCECA ticket. Brazil already claimed the South American spot.
Puerto Rico fell in the quarterfinal after a thrilling, back-and-forth tie-break set. It was the longest match of the tournament so far at one hour and 38 minutes.
Wagner Chacon scored 21 points for the winning team, followed by teammate Erik Flores with 18 (including three aces). Pedro Molina of Puerto Rico topped all scoring with 28 points.
Eric Loeppky and Sharone Vernon-Evans both had 19 points for Canada. Chilean opposite Vicente Mardones had 13 kills for his team.
Reider Lucas, head coach of the Guatemalan side, was happy with this hard-fought win.
“My guys knew they had to do their best and they did. Puerto Rico was one of the favourite teams of the tournament,” he said. “They’re taller and they played very well. My guys gave everything they could to be one of the best four teams. That’s a very good feeling.”
Canada coach Gino Brousseau commented: “We had a good start, but for some unknown reason, we just fell apart (in the third set). We didn’t respect the opponent – in my mind we thought that after two sets the game was over. We poked the bear and after that, we were in trouble and all the pressure was on us. We were afraid to make mistakes, but I made some subs and we came back strong.”
Top Scorer by Day
21- Miguel Gutierrez of Cuba v Chile on 16-5-17
19- Gabriel Garcia of Puerto Rico v Chile on 17-5-17
24- Wagner Chacon of Guatemala v Barbados on 18-5-17
28- Pedro Molina of Puerto Rico v Guatemala on 19-5-17
Best Scoring Performances
28- Pedro Molina of Puerto Rico v Guatemala on 19-5-17
24- Wagner Chacon of Guatemala v Barbados on 18-5-17
21- Miguel Gutierrez of Cuba v Chile on 16-5-17
21- Wagner Chacon of Guatemala v Puerto Rico on 19-5-17
20- Erick Loeppky of Canada v Brazil on 18-5-17
Best Blocking Performances
6- McCarthy Fynnian of Canada v Brazil on 18-5-17
5- Ahkeem Mayers of Barbados v Guatemala on 18-5-17
4- Victor Cardoso of Brazil v Guatemala on 17-5-17
4- Wagner Chacon of Guatemala v Barbados on 18-5-17
4- Shevin Blades of Barbados v Guatemala on 18-5-17
4- Taryq Sani of Canada v Chile on 19-5-17
Best Serving Performances
11- Miguel Gutierrez of Cuba v Chile on 16-5-17
6- Bastian Fuentes of Chile v Puerto Rico on 17-5-17
6- Miguel Lopez of Cuba v Puerto Rico on 18-5-17
5- Gabriel Garcia of Puerto Rico v Chile on 17-5-17
5- Osniel Melgarejo of Cuba v Puerto Rico on 18-5-17
Best Team Blocking Performances
18- Barbados v Guatemala on 18-5-17
14- Canada v Chile on 19-5-17
13- Canada v Brazil on 18-5-17
10- Brazil v Barbados on 16-5-17
10- Brazil v Guatemala on 17-5-17
10- Brazil v Canada on 18-5-17
Best Team Serving Performances
15- Cuba v Chile on 16-5-17
14- Cuba v Puerto Rico on 16-5-17
10- Puerto Rico v Chile on 17-5-17
Highest Scoring Sets
34-32 Guatemala v Barbados (1st Set) on 18-5-17
26-24 Barbados v Guatemala (2nd Set) on 18-5-17
25-23 Chile v Puerto Rico (1st Set) on 17-5-17
Highest Scoring Matches
208- Guatemala d Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-13, 22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 16-14) on 19-5-17
201- Guatemala d Barbados 3-1 (34-32, 24-26, 25-14, 25-21) on 18-5-17