Voleibol bronce

Havana, Jun 24 (JIT) - On Saturday, the Cuban national team defeated Canada in four sets to win the bronze medal of the U-17 Men's Pan American Volleyball Cup 2024, which closed its actions in the Mexican city of Colima with the coronation of Puerto Rico.

The team coached by Lian Sem Estrada recovered from a setback in the first set and won the match with scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-18 and 25-19. Thus, they sealed their passage through the tournament with a balance of three wins and an equal number of losses.

Collectively, the Cubans showed an advantage in attack (55-46) and service (3-1), while the northerners defended the net better (9-7) and committed more unforced errors (33-25), according to the official statistics of the tournament.

Opposite Yosdani Medina led the Antillean attack and was the top scorer of the match with 23 points, all scored with spikes. His teammates Andy Marero and Samuel Rodríguez also stood out with 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Tyson DeZutter carried the offensive weight for the Canadians, scoring 19 points in 18 attacks and one block. Seth Brunoro (14) and William Clarmo (12) also scored double digits.

At the end of the match, the Cuban coach told the Norceca website: "in the last sets we made adjustments, especially in the serve, which we changed direction and location... I'm happy because we have been training for a short time and they have been able to follow the guidelines. I think that for the world championship we will continue to grow".

In the closing match of the tournament, the Puerto Rican team battled for five sets to defeat Mexico with scores of 25-10, 23-25, 25-27, 25-16, 15-12.

The tournament's honor roll included Cuba's Samuel Rodrigo, selected as the most outstanding player in the service and receiving sections. 

Honor Roll 

Gustavo Álvarez (PUR/Most Valuable Player)

Emi Díaz (MEX/Best Attacker)

Adrián Carrillo (PUR/Second Best Attacker)

Jorge Suarez (PUR/Best Blocker)

Dylan Lopez (PUR/Second best blocker)

Samuel Rodríguez (CUB/Best receiver and Best service)

Ignacio Cruz (PUR/Best defender and Best libero)

Edurdo Escoto (MEX/Best Passer)

Tyson Dezutter (CAN/Best scorer)

Luis Mendizabal (GUA/Best Opposite)