Cuba Wins Pan American U-20 Cup and Ticket to World Championship

The Cuban national volleyball team won the Pan-American U-20 Cup in Peru on Sunday, in an electrifying five-set final in which they imposed their character and efficiency against the refined game of the Dominican Republic team.

The Cuban women’s sextet won with 25-21, 25-23, 14-25, 15-25 and 15-10 slate that reflects the disputed match that culminated the tournament.

Cuba began the contest with strong attacks that the Dominicans, which many considered favorites, could not control, and were defeated by the Cubans, who won by making less mistakes than their rivals, a routine that was repeated in the second set.

For the third, the Dominicans were determined to reverse what was lost and imposed widely, which was repeated in the fourth set, in both cases with a difference so wide which predicted they would win the fifth.

Such prognosis seemed to be fulfilled at the beginning of the final set, with four consecutive points for Dominicans, but from then on the contest was decided by the order, strength and courage of the Cubans, who closed a brilliant campaign.

The main scorer of the match was Dominican Jazmin Guillen (RD) with 30 points, followed by Cuban Ailama Cese, with 29.

Cuban coach Tomas Fernandez Arteaga said his team showed maturity and great play, so he feels ‘enormous pride because 60 percent of this team are minors, and we are targeting the Tokyo Olympics.

He added that serve and fundamentals is something that Cuban volleyball players always work with dedication, in training seven hours a day, the effort has been seen with the World Cup classification and the Pan American title.