Havana, June 3 (RHC)- The Cuban duo of Noslen Diaz and Jorge Luis Alayo debuted with a 2-0 victory over their Canadian counterpart Licht-Abrams in the North, Central America and Caribbean (Norceca) beach volleyball tournament, under-23 category, which is being held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

According to the website www.norceca.net, Diaz and Alayo only needed 30 minutes of play to defeat their rivals, with partials of 21-12 and 21-12, in a match corresponding to group C.

This Saturday, the Cubans will face the Dominican duo Gil-Wilmore, who previously lost 0-2 (7-21 and 16-21) to the northern team, in 27 minutes of action on the court.

The quarterfinals will also take place today, and on Sunday the semifinals and the final, with the discussion of the bronze and gold medals.

Twelve countries are competing in Punta Cana in search of ranking points, as part of the qualification system for international events of the category.

Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and St. Kitts and Nevis are in action in the A, B, C and D sections.

As scheduled, Diaz and Alayo will then participate in the qualifying tournament for the 2023 Beach Volleyball World Championship in Tlaxcala, Mexico.

So far 13 countries have confirmed their participation: Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Lucia.

The pre-World Cup event awards four places (m and f) to compete in Tlaxcala, from October 6 to 15.