NORCECA U19 Boys' Continental Championship: USA & Guatemala Advance to the Semis

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	10	2	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	150	84	1.786	6	0	MAX
2	CRC	COSTA RICA	4	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	141	160	0.881	3	4	0.75
3	NCA	NICARAGUA	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	128	175	0.731	1	6	0.167

1	CUB	CUBA	15	3	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	228	136	1.676	9	0	MAX
2	USA	UNITED STATES	10	3	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	214	178	1.202	6	3	2
3	GUA	GUATEMALA	4	3	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	196	225	0.871	3	7	0.429
4	HON	HONDURAS	1	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	149	248	0.601	1	9	0.111

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:

QUARTERFINALS:

USA DEF. NICARAGUA 3-0

USA def. Nicaragua 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-13)
USA improves to 3-1; Nicaragua falls to 0-3

It was all red, white and blue in this quarterfinal, with the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team dominating Nicaragua for a berth in the semifinals. It was a bit of a slow start early, but that didn’t last into the other sets as now the Americans will face Puerto Rico in the semifinals with a promise of two more matches (semifinal plus either first or third-place match). However, one more victory earns the team a bid to the FIVB World Championship in 2019.

Team USA not just had a sizable advantage in attack, but owned a decisive edge in blocking (11-0) and aces (13-2). At that point, the nine more errors weren’t an issue because they were a product of playing more aggressively and creating more points.

At the end of the action, USA had four players with double-digit points, led by Akhil Tangutur (14 points) and Joseph Deluzio (13 points). Compare that to Guatemala, whose leading scorer had just seven points in the time in the one-sided affair.

USA head coach Brad Keller: “The match started slowly because it’s the morning after that they exerted a ton of energy the night before, so coming out early morning is a bit difficult to get motivated and get going. Finally they got the rhythm; we’ve had that problem the whole tournament. We have a good deep team, some guys to help us out and we can go with any line-up, depending how fresh we are to face the semifinal.”

Nicaragua head coach Jorge Mena: “It was good match, we played well, and it was a good preparation to face our next opponent Costa Rica. We hope to have an excellent defense just like this one.”

GUATEMALA DEF. COSTA RICA 3-2

Guatemala def. Costa Rica 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 27-25, 15-13)
Guatemala improves to 2-2; Costa Rica falls to 1-2

The Costa Rican side actually outscored the Guatemalan side, but it was Guatemala coming up with the key points when it mattered most to fend off a 2-1 set deficit and win 15-13 in the fifth. The win pushes Guatemala to the semifinals to take on the top team in the event, Cuba, as they will get two more matches from here.

The block seemed like it would be the downfall for Guatemala, as it was almost the saving grace for Costa Rica with a 23-9 edge. They also had one more kill and two more aces. Instead, it was the mistakes that plagued Costa Rica, as they recorded 41 errors compared to just 28 from Guatemala.

Interestingly enough, Costa Rica had five players with double-digit points while Guatemala had just three. Guatemala did have the matches’ leader in points though with Kevin Carlos Hoil Ortega (22 points).

Wing spiker Kevin Hoil of Guatemala: “I am really excited, it was a tough battle and I must thank my team. This is a team effort and we are really glad to come and doing a good job here.”

Costa Rica head coach Juan Acuña: “Guatemala improved from the last time we faced them in Panama; they came well prepared and they fought strongly. We lacked decision in sets four and five, it’s a shame because there are many plans with this group of players.”

Full Schedule:

NO.

DATE

TIME

TEAMS

SCORES

SET

POINTS

TIME

FORMS

6-June

19:00

PUERTO RICO

NICARAGUA