Hosts Puerto Rico finished the preliminary round of Pool R with a win-loss record of 3-0
Ponce, Puerto Rico, May 25, 2014 – Hosts Puerto Rico will play Mexico on Sunday in the gold medal match of the NORCECA Men’s World Championship Qualification Tournament Pool R with the winners getting the pass to Poland.
In Saturday’s actions, Puerto Rico defeated Bahamas 25-19, 25-19, 25-13 to conclude the preliminary phase with a spotless record while Mexico (2-1) beat Honduras 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 at Juan “Pachín” Vicens Auditorium.
In the preliminary round-robin phase, Puerto Rico won against Mexico in straight sets 25-13, 25-20, 25-19.
Maurice Torres led Puerto Rico with 11 points and Romell Lightbourn was the best for Bahamas with 8.
“When we established consistency with our serves, we took advantage of our game,” Puerto Rico’s coach David Aleman said. “Bahamas is a team that has improved its game.”
Daniel Vargas was the best scorer for Mexico with 12 points followed by Carlos Guerra with 11 points despite only playing in the first two sets. Tomas Aguilera chipped in 10 tallies. Honduras’ Evan Torres finished with 11 points.
“We improved our game a lot and got the rhythm but still have not reached our top level,” Mexico’s coach Sergio Hernández said.