First Men's U-17 Volleyball World Championship
Havana, Aug 27 (JIT) - The Cuban team will face Spain in the round of 16 of the First Men's U-17 Volleyball World Championship 2024, which takes place in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria.
The Iberians finished first in qualifying group A, while the Antilleans were last in group C after losing their three matches against Italy, Argentina and Puerto Rico, in that order.
The Italian team defeated the Cuban team 3-1 (25-23, 24-26, 25-15, 25-12) with a wide superiority in attack (52-26), blocking (12-7) and service (7-2). They committed fewer errors than their opponents (28-41), according to the website of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
For the Caribbean side, standouts were opposite Yosdani Medina (10/9-1-0), middle blocker Julio Acosta (8/4-3-1), and corner players Andy Marrero (6/5-1-0) and Samuel Rodriguez (6/6-0-0-0). The top scorers were Italy's Federico Argano and Manuel Zatlanov Hristov, both with 18 points.
Argentina won in straight sets of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-15. They dominated in attack (36-28), blocking (12-5) and service (6-2), but committed three more unforced errors (21-18).
South American Federico Debonis scored the most points (13), followed by teammate Benjamin Flores, who added 12. For the Cuban team, the only one with double digits was corner attacker Andy Marrero (11), while Samuel Rodriguez (9) and Acosta (6) also contributed.
On Monday, in the last day of the four-key elimination round, our team lost against Puerto Rico in three sets (24-26, 14-25, 18-25).
The Puerto Ricans led in blocking (14-8), service (3-2) and fewer own errors (12-25) and there was a tie in attack with 34 points each.
Medina (14) and Yordani Ruiz (10) finished as the most productive for the Cubans, and Fernandez was the top scoring opponent with 16.
Cuba qualified for the world championship during the Norceca U-17 Championship in Veracruz 2023, where they won the bronze medal coached by Mario Izquierdo. It then had three successes and two failures, these precisely against Puerto Rico and Mexico, owners of the gold and silver, respectively.
ARGENTINA RETAINED THE CROWN IN THE WOMEN'S PAN AMERICAN CUP
Argentina retained the crown in the 11th Women's Pan American Cup by defeating the United States 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-19) at the venue of Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
In this way, they finished with seven wins and only one setback, which was inflicted on them in the preliminary group match, precisely by the northern team (6-1).
The bronze medal was won by Colombia after defeating the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-14), followed by Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Peru, Costa Rica and Suriname.
Meanwhile, in Gatineau, Canada, the United States defeated the hosts 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 25-20, 25-22) to win the title of the fourth edition of the Norceca Men's Final Six Tournament.
Third place was secured by Mexico after defeating Puerto Rico 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 15-11), and fifth place went to Cuba, who defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1 (29-19, 34-36, 26-24, 25-21).
