Cuba advances undefeated to semifinals at the 17th Pan American Volleyball Cup

 HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 19 (ACN) Cuba advanced directly and undefeated in Group B to the semifinals of the 17th Men's Senior Volleyball Pan American Cup, after defeating the host Dominican Republic 3-1 at the "Profesor Ricardo Gioriber Arias" Volleyball Palace in Santo Domingo.

The young and second Cuban team defeated the locals on Thursday with scores of 25-18, 23-25, 25-23 and 25-13, in a match in which they were better in all aspects of the game, with a highlight for Caros Yoandrys Charles.

Charles was the top scorer of the match with 27 points, 25 in the attack, and two in the blocking, supported by Bryan Camino (12/11-1-0), while for Dominicans Hector Alexis Cruz (26/25-2-1) and Victor Ramon Tapia (16/15-0-1), all four with double digits.

According to the website www.norceca,net, the official statistics of the challenge showed the superiority of the Cuban team in attack, 54 points to 45, blocking (10-7) and service (9-5), to which they added an advantage in their own errors (22-25).

With this performance, Cuba (4-0) led section A, followed by Dominican Republic (3-1), Colombia (2-2), Peru (1-3) and Guatemala (0-4).

Today begins the battle for the seventh through tenth places and the quarterfinal stage, with rest for Cubans and U.S., who will wait for the winners of the quarters.

The Pan American Cup is part of the qualification process for the North, Central America and Caribbean Continental Championship (Norceca) 2025, the Pan American Cup in 2025 and the Pan American Games in 2027.