NORCECA U19 Boys’ Continental Championship: Cuba Downs USA for Gold

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

RESULTS:

CHAMPIONSHIP:

CUBA DEF. USA 3-0

• Cuba def. USA 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-20)
• Cuba improves to 5-0; USA falls to 4-2

In the match for the gold, Cuba earned their second sweep defeat of the United States Boys’ Youth National Team, sending the Americans to the silver medal. The victory also locks up the NORCECA U19 Continental Championship for Cuba for the second straight time.

Despite the result, both nations had already accomplished the most important aspect of this tournament: qualifying for the 2019 FIVB U19 World Championship.

Neither team found much rhythm in knocking down aces, and attacks weren’t overwhelming. The biggest key was the Cuban defense, which out-blocked the Americans 13-4, spearheaded by Luis Vidal Allen Serrano (six blocks, nine points). They also held every player on the United States to seven or less points, as Clarke Godbold (seven points) and Alex Knight (six points) notched the most. On the flip side, Alexei Ramirez Masso (12 points) and Jose Miguel Gutierrez Suarez (11 points) could not be stopped.

Cuban head coach Mario Izquierdo: “Thanks to my boys’ efforts we reached our goals and all the people involved in this Project. This victory brings good news to my country after suffering a tragic plane crash a few weeks ago; giving good news like this is the best we can bring back home. My boys worked at their fullest, they deserve because of their many sacrifices. We were aggressive, our blocks en reception worked out great.”

USA head coach Brad Keller: “Cuba is a really good team, they are physical and they bring from the service line like I have never seen before. Congratulations to Cuba they did a good job. As for us, we earned a tough bid to worlds, we got a year to get better, we will get better and we’ll compete. What to improve: I thought our serves and passing that are our bread and butter, a little bit of transition and blocking scheme; they are all doable.”

THIRD-PLACE MATCH:

PUERTO RICO DEF. GUATEMALA 3-1

• Puerto Rico def. Guatemala 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-17)
• Puerto Rico improves to 3-1; Guatemala falls to 2-4

Puerto Rico couldn’t crack a bid to the 2019 FIVB U19 World Championship, but they got the next best thing with a tournament closing victory. The Group A champions took down Guatemala to collect a bronze medal and a third-place finish.

The block for Puerto Rico was the main difference in overcoming a 1-0 deficit and winning in four, as they notched a 15-3 edge in blocks. That contributed to things opening up more for Puerto Rico offensively, led by the dynamic duo of Sebastian Negron (15 kills, 19 points) and Wilmer Hernandez (13 kills, 18 points). It was the others pitching in too for Puerto Rico to the tune of 22 more kills. Compare that to Guatemala, who had the top two presence of David Aimar Ismalej Ixpata (13 kills) and Kevin Carlos Hoil Ortega (11 kills), but had just 10 kills from the others.

Puerto Rican opposite Sebastian Negron: “It was a rocky beginning but we didn’t lose control; we were patience and got back into our own rhythm. Our blocking was crucial in our recovery and being more effective. We take third place of the zone y we hope to qualify to worlds in another tournament.”

Guatemalan head coach Luis Fernando: “In conclusion this was a win-win experience. The opportunity for such young players is unbeatable. We put up a good fight against Puerto Rico, we learned a lot and it’s really satisfying finishing just short behind the best ranked teams in the world.”

FIFTH-PLACE MATCH:

NICARAGUA DEF. COSTA RICA 3-1

• Nicaragua def. Costa Rica 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-9)
• Nicaragua improves to 1-3; Costa Rica falls to 1-3

The first three matches didn’t go in Nicaragua’s favor, but they ended the tournament on a high-note with a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica in the fifth-place match. That was the opposite for Costa Rica, who was unable to grab the late victory in front of a home crowd.

Costa Rica was the team who got off to a hot start by winning the first behind Steven Jimenez Alvarez Yeyco (10 points) and the serve of Jefferson Guzman Orozco (eight points, three aces). Guatemala shifted back the momentum with their block and attack, which was ignited by Josue Cano Osorio (15 points) and Axel Zamora Morales (13 points).

Nicaraguan wing-spiker Josue Cano: “We were disciplined in following our coaches’ instructions, we were focused on limiting our errors and our defense worked well, added to the fact that our blocking stopped Costa Rica’s wing spikers. We didn’t lose concentration in the last set and that’s why so big of a margin.”

STANDINGS:

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)

Full Schedule:

NO.	DATE	TIME		TEAMS				SCORES	SET	1	2	3	4	5	POINTS	TIME	FORMS
3	6-June	19:00		PUERTO RICO	vs	NICARAGUA		LIVE	3-0	25-12	25-11	25-20			75-43	1:02	P-2	P-3
6	7-June	19:00		COSTA RICA	vs	NICARAGUA		LIVE	3-1	25-21	23-25	25-14	27-25		100-85	1:41	P-2	P-3
9	8-June	19:00		COSTA RICA	vs	PUERTO RICO		LIVE	0-3	13-25	16-25	12-25			41-75	1:11	P-2	P-3
GROUP-B
1	6-June	15:00		GUATEMALA	vs	UNITED STATES		LIVE	0-3	23-25	14-25	18-25			55-75	1:19	P-2	P-3
2	6-June	17:00		CUBA	vs	HONDURAS		LIVE	3-0	25-9	25-10	25-10			75-29	0:53	P-2	P-3
4	7-June	15:00		CUBA	vs	GUATEMALA		LIVE	3-0	25-13	25-12	25-18			75-43	1:02	P-2	P-3
5	7-June	17:00		HONDURAS	vs	UNITED STATES		LIVE	0-3	16-25	15-25	14-25			45-75	1:09	P-2	P-3
7	8-June	15:00		HONDURAS	vs	GUATEMALA		LIVE	1-3	21-25	25-23	18-25	11-25		75-98	1:43	P-2	P-3
8	8-June	17:00		UNITED STATES	vs	CUBA		LIVE	0-3	19-25	19-25	26-28			64-78	1:35	P-2	P-3
QUARTERFINALS
10	9-June	09:00		COSTA RICA	vs	GUATEMALA		LIVE	2-3	23-25	25-22	25-18	25-27	13-15	111-107	2:01	P-2	P-3
11	9-June	11:00		UNITED STATES	vs	NICARAGUA		LIVE	3-0	25-21	25-14	25-13			75-48	1:01	P-2	P-3
SEMIFINALS
12	9-June	17:00		CUBA	vs	GUATEMALA		LIVE	3-0	25-10	25-17	25-15			75-42	0:58	P-2	P-3
13	9-June	19:00		PUERTO RICO	vs	UNITED STATES		LIVE	0-3	17-25	19-25	20-25			56-75	1:21	P-2	P-3
FINAL CLASSIFICATIONS 5/6
14	10-June	14:00		COSTA RICA	vs	NICARAGUA		LIVE	1-3	25-19	19-25	19-25	9-25		72-94	1:32	P-2	P-3
FINALS
15	10-June	16:00		GUATEMALA	vs	PUERTO RICO		LIVE	1-3	25-20	19-25	13-25	17-25		74-95	1:34	P-2	P-3
16	10-June	18:00		CUBA	vs	UNITED STATES		LIVE	3-0	25-17	25-17	25-20			75-54	1:20	P-2	P-3