Cuba to Face United States in NORCECA Men's U17 Volleyball Championship Semifinals

The Cuban men's team will once again face the United States after defeating Costa Rica 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 23-25, 12-25, 15-10) in a hard-fought quarterfinal match at the NORCECA Continental Championship Managua 2025.

The North American team had previously bested the Cubans in Group B, which they won undefeated after also dispatching Mexico and the Dominican Republic, both by a score of 2-0. However, they needed four sets to overcome the Cuban squad, with a final score of 23-25, 25-14, 25-23, and 25-19.

The winner of the Cuba-USA semifinal will compete for the gold medal on Sunday against the victor of the match between Puerto Rico, the undefeated leader of Pool A, and Mexico, who defeated Barbados 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-16) this Friday.

Statistical Analysis of the Quarterfinal

In the quarterfinal, the Cuban selection was broadly superior to Costa Rica in attacks (62-40) and serves (12-8). However, they were outperformed in blocks (9-12) and committed significantly more errors, giving up 39 points from their own mistakes compared to their rivals' 16.

Corner player Reinaldo Márquez continued as the most productive player on his team and the top scorer of the match with 27 points (22 spikes and 5 aces). He was supported by opposite hitter Dalián la O (19 points: 13 spikes, 4 blocks, 2 aces) and auxiliary hitter Víctor Contreras (17 points: 14 spikes, 1 block, 2 aces), according to the event's official website. For the Central Americans, Kenneth Quirós accumulated 16 points, Ignacio Alpizar 13, and Moisés Watson 10.

Coach's Perspective

Cuban coach Lian Sem Estrada stated to the press, "The boys managed to pull out the match in the end, but I think we became a little overconfident. In the fifth set, after starting by losing due to two errors, we thought it was the moment to break Costa Rica's intentions and get out of the emotional slump of a tie-break."

He added, "Now we are in the semifinal, which is a step we wanted to reach, but the goal goes further. We have another objective, and first we have to get through the semifinal."