Panama satisfied with 7th-place finish at U-21 Pan Am Volleyball Cup
Panama availed the excellent opportunity to host the 1st U-21 Pan American Men’s Volleyball Cup on its soil this year.
The tournament started off on Wednesday, June 22 with a total of eight volleyball squads from Central American and Caribbean countries. The participants of tournament installed their bases at the Roberto Duran Sports Arena in Panama City.
The Panamanian Volleyball Federation and the Panamanian Sport Institute served as the main-organizers of this event, which successfully covered its final stage on Monday, June 27. The medal and classification matches were played on Sunday and Monday, while
teams settled down in their relevant positions from 1-8.
The hosts of U-21 Pan American Men’s Volleyball Cup, Panama had big plans for the tournament. They had certain advantage over others for being the home team. However, the they couldn’t create any huge impact in the tournament but finished only in 7th position.
Panama’s team was challenged by Honduras in the classification match on Monday. It was not an easy fight as Honduras gave a hard time to Panamanians. The scrimmage for volleyball supremacy between Panama and Honduras spanned over five sets.
Panama’s team posted 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-21, and 15-9) victory over Honduras to get hold of the seventh position. A good number of local spectators had come to witness the last performance of their team at the 2011 U-21 Pan American Men’s Volleyball
Cup. The emotional support of fans encouraged home team to outdo Honduras in a close match.
Panama’s victory was mainly credited to Manuel Gomez, who played an instrumental role in keeping his side ahead of opponents. He contributed 22 valuable points in Panama’s score via frequent attack attempts.
Similarly, team captain Pablo Quiel actively participated in the strike and chipped in 18 points. Both these Panamanian players created much trouble for Honduras. The captain of guest team, Jose Vasquez worked out a great performance and added 15 points
in Honduras’ score. He was followed by Orestes Hernandez, who helped 14 points.
The head coach of Team Panama, Elliott Clark appreciated the effort of his team as they made a great come-back after a shaky start. He said Panama didn’t serve well in the start but controlled the action afterwards. The skipper of Panamanian team, Quiel
expressed his views that it was important not to finish in the last place.
On the other hand, assistant coach of Honduras Evans Torres commented, “It was disappointing to lose against a team of the same level and more age, but we are satisfied with the close game.”
The Honduras Team Captain Jose Vasquez regretted the loss of important match but he was happy with the team effort.
He said, “Soon we will face Panama at the Central American Tournament and the history will be different.”
Tags: