2018 NORCECA U19 Boys' Continental Championship: USA, Cuba & Puerto Rico Start 1-0

2018 NORCECA U19 BOYS’ CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

June 6-10, 2018
San Jose, Costa Rica | Gimnasio Nacional
NORCECA Homepage
2018 NORCECA U19 Boys’ Continental Championship Preview

The 2018 NORCECA U19 Boys’ Continental Championship began in Costa Rica featuring a seven-team field. Cuba will be looking to defend their crown while the United States is trying to win the tournament off of American soil for the first time. In total, two tickets to the age-group related 2019 FIVB World Championship will be punched in the event.

All matches can be viewed on NORCECATV at https://www.internetv.tv/ for $8.00 USD. More information, featuring analysis, results, standings and schedule can be seen below.

FORMAT:

What’s on the line?
- The top two teams will earn a bid to the 2019 FIVB U19 Boys’ World Championship
The seven teams are distributed into two pools – one featuring 3 teams with the other holding 4
The top three ranked teams in each pool will advance to the quarterfinals on June 9
- 2nd in Pool A vs. 3rd in Pool B; 3rd in Pool A vs. 2nd in Pool B
  - Winners advance to the semifinals against the pool victors
- That will be followed by a First and Third-Place match

STANDINGS:

Rk	Code	Country	Points	Matches			Results Details						Points			Sets
Rk	Code	Country	Points	T	Won	Lost	3-0	3-1	3-2	2-3	1-3	0-3	Won	Lost	Ratio	Won	Lost	Ratio
1	PUR	PUERTO RICO	5	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	75	43	1.744	3	0	MAX
2	NCA	NICARAGUA	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	43	75	0.573	0	3
3	CRC	COSTA RICA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0

1	CUB	CUBA	5	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	75	29	2.586	3	0	MAX
2	USA	UNITED STATES	5	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	75	55	1.364	3	0	MAX
3	GUA	GUATEMALA	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	55	75	0.733	0	3
4	HON	HONDURAS	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	29	75	0.387	0	3

Note: Order of teams determined in this order: W-L, points, point ratio, set ratio, head-to-head. Points for W-L’s will be as follows:

3-0 win = 5 points
3-1 win = 4 points
3-2 win = 3 points
2-3 loss = 2 points
1-3 loss = 1 point
0-3 loss = 0 points
Forfeit = 0 points (and 0-75 in points for match)

RESULTS:

Group A:

PUERTO RICO DEF. NICARAGUA, 3-0

Puerto Rico def. Nicaragua 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-20)
Puerto Rico improves to 1-0 (5 points); Nicaragua falls to 0-1 (0 points)

In what appears to be a wide-open group, Puerto Rico got started off on the right foot with a sweep of Nicarauga. Being that each team will only face two matches in Group A, that five points are huge for Puerto Rico in case things turned into a three-way tie of 1-1 teams.

The success came from a plentiful block for the Puerto Rican side, which held an amazing 8-0 advantage. The serve was also 6-2 in aces with eight less team errors coming for Puerto Rico. Beyond the extra points and defensive edge coming from the block for Puerto Rico, the lack of any presence up front for Nicarauga opened things up offensively, as Sebastian Negron and Wilmer Hernandez each notched nine points with two more players at six. Josue Cano recorded 12 points for Nicaragua, but there wasn’t quite the balance.

Puerto Rico coach Juan Albarran: “Part of today’s plan was that everyone had a chance to play, this allows us to see what to continue on working during the tournament; it all went well. I think the starting players in the last set were nervous but we moved forward. Today our middle blockers made the difference and gave us the advantage.”

Nicaragua coach Jorge Mena: “We were hoping for a tighter match like the third set, but my boys were too nervous facing Puerto Rico. My instructions have been to play with more confidence because we have nothing to lose. I believe the players weren’t scared anymore in the end.”

Group B:

USA DEF. GUATEMALA, 3-0

USA def. Guatemala 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-18)
USA improves to 1-0 (5 points); Guatemala falls to 0-1 (0 points)

The difference in size and power was apparent as the U.S. Boy’s team took down Guatemala in straight sets with a hefty advantage in spikes, blocks and serve. That added to the idea before the tournament that the Americans and Cubans would be the top two teams in not just the group, but the whole tournament.

Leading the way for the United States were the two Ethans in Ethan Hill and Ethan Smith. The duo combined for 18 point out of the middle and were the top two scorers in the match. Meanwhile, Guatemala’s offense was stifled and Kevin Hoil led the way with just five points despite a solid first set.

USA Coach Brad Keller: “Who had the chance to use a different line-up in set three said about their debut “the whole team and I were excited, it’s my first time as head coach and for my guys their first international experience, they have worked hard and they really want to win. You want to get your first win so much that when things don’t work exactly as planned you get a bit nervous. I have a lot of faith in all our twelve guys and you will see different line-ups depending on what we see, everyone brings something different and I wanted to give all of them some time on the court.”

USA captain Joseph Karlous: “We were nervous going into our first international game. We’re fine, we played totally fine and kept cool after set one. All the jitters got away in set two; now everyone knows how we play. This team is good on chemistry; we love each other and our coaches.”

CUBA DEF. HONDURAS 3-0

Cuba def. Honduras 3-0 (25-9, 25-10, 25-10)
Cuba improves to 1-0 (5 points); Honduras falls to 0-1 (0 points)

The defending champions in this event, Cuba, showed no weakness in their debut for 2018 by not just sweeping Honduras, but outscoring them 75-29. The match gave Cuba a chance to start off on the right foot and also play all of their players to grab experience and stay rested.

Amazingly, Cuba had a 23-0 advantage from blocks and aces. The attack also netted quite the difference and Jose Miguel Gutierrez and Victor Andreu each notched 11 points. The balance didn’t end there, with three more players at nine or 10 points for the Cubans. Compare that to Honduras, whose leading scorer David Pineda had just four points.

Cuba coach Mario Izquierdo: “There is no small opponent, we are focused on that; we come here to face whatever comes our way, we respect everyone and we come well prepared. I liked the way my boys fought and the well they followed the instructions given before today’s match.”

Honduras captain Allan Escoto: “We are short and they are tall, this makes all the difference. We did our best; we defended as much as possible and we fought up to the end; we aren’t here to fool around, we are ready to play hard.”

Full Schedule:

GROUP-A

No.

Date

Time

Teams

SCORES

Set

Points

Time

FORMS

6-June

19:00

PUERTO RICO

NICARAGUA