Puerto Rico made history with first NORCECA Continental Championship title, (they won one silver and two bronze medals in the past) while Canada finished second for the sixth time (in previous editions of the tournament Canada won one gold and 14 bronze medals). By entering the finals, Puerto Rico and Canada also qualified for the 2022 World Championship in Russia.
Puerto Rico won NORCECA continental men’s title by defeating Canada 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-23) in a gold medal match in Durango, Mexico.
Gabriel Garcia led Puerto Rico to gold with 11 points, while Pellegrin Vargas scored 10 and Jonathan Rodriguez 9 points. Brandon Koppers with 14 points was Canada top scorer and Xander Ketrzynski added 11.
Oswald Antonetti, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “What a beautiful feeling reaching your goals, but how beautiful is making history. Teams must be tenacious, have personality and a substance of values and identity to make things like this happen. We are enjoying the moment, each play and the process, listening to “La Borinqueña” (Puerto Rico national anthem) will be really emotional”.
Gabriel García, Puerto Rico: “This was teamwork, we believed in ourselves, in the system and each other individually. We enjoy victory as a team, winning was the only thing on our minds this morning”.
Mexico won a bronze medal at the NORCECA men’s continental championship by defeating Cuba 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 30-28, 27-25). This is the third bronze medal for Mexico in the history of this event.
Mexican Diego Gonzalez was the top scorer of the match with 22 points. Miguel Angel Lopez scored 19 and Jesus Herrera 18 points for Cuba.
The United States won 5th place by defeating the Dominican Republic 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21).
NORCECA Finals
Gold medal match
Puerto Rico – Canada 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-23)
Bronze medal match
Mexico – Cuba 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 30-28, 27-25)
5th place match
United States – Dominican Republic 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21)
