Winners or the U23 Pan American Volleyball Cup (m)

Havana, Sept 22 (ACN) The Cuban men's team won the bronze medal and the individual award for best setter at the U23 Pan American Volleyball Cup, held at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal in Paramaribo, Suriname.  

For the largest of the Antilles, this is the fifth medal in the history of the competition, since in previous editions it won three gold medals and one silver, a booty to which Yonni Iglesias was now added as the best setter of the tournament.

The title went to Mexico, defeating Peru 3-1 (25-16, 27-25, 21-25 and 25-13) in the final, a result that guaranteed one of the two tickets at stake for the II Pan American Junior Games, to be held in 2025 in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Guatemala won the other ticket, despite losing 0-3 (20-25, 23-25 and 15-25) to Cuba in the fight for the bronze medal. The Cubans arrived in Paramaribo with their place assured, as did the Dominican Republic, teams that won in the 2023 edition, when they finished in first and second place, in that order.

The Dominicans finished in fifth place with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-15 and 25-18) victory over Costa Rica, while Suriname finished seventh with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-13 and 25-10) win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

After the end of the Cuba-Guatemala match on Saturday, Cuban coach Jesús Cruz told www.norceca.net "after the loss to Peru -in the semifinals- it was hard to get the boys' spirits up because the goal was to win the title".

"Today we went out to win the bronze. Entering the event qualified for the Junior Pan American Games in 2025, we were able to observe some players who had not had so much time on the court".

The honor roll, in which Cuba's Yonny Iglesias was the best setter, was completed with Mexico's Isaías Aguirre, the tournament's most valuable player, who was also the best attacker and receiver.

Mexico also included Diego Ruiz (second best blocker) and Franky Hernandez (best service player), while Peruvian Alonso Porras was the second best attacker.

From the Dominican Republic team, Adrian Figueroa was the best scorer and opposite, Eliander Jimenez (best libero and defense) and Moises Ortiz (best blocker).

The largest of the Antilles has won the event three times since its inception in 2012, beating Mexico in 2014 and 2018, and the Dominican Republic in 2023, while Argentina, Brazil and Mexico each have a gold medal.