Cuba wins the bronze at Women’s Challenger Cup

EDMONTON, Canada, May 20, 2018 - Cuba won its final match and the NORCECA Women’s Challenge Cup bronze medal after a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-13) victory over Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday.

Regla Gracia Gonzalez and Diaris Perez Ramos had 13 and 12 points respectively for the Cuban team.

Darlene Ramdin of Trinidad topped the match score chart with 16 points.

Canada and Puerto Rico play for the gold. The Challenger Cup was originally a six-team tournament, but Costa Rica withdrew at the last minute due to travel issues.

Wilfredo Robinson Pupo, Head Coach of Cuba: “Our players looked really strong. Our offense was stronger, and our setting was stronger as well. We also had the opportunity to include all our players this time to the match; so that they can all play. Winning a medal is always positive, but we had more ambition today. We expected to be in the final against either Canada or Puerto Rico, and so we are not completely satisfied.”

Sulian Matienzo Linares, Captain of Cuba: “We were not happy. We should have gotten into the final against Canada. That was our goal during this tournament. We didn’t accomplish that but we got a medal. We were happy with our play today, which was our new goal, and we got it right this time.”

Francisco Cruz, head coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “It went very bad. The players weren’t doing what I was indicating. Maybe they had too much pressure on them today. I can not explain, I will need to analyze because there is not a relationship between this game and other games we have had. Other teams had a higher level and the Cubans don’t have that level, so maybe it was just the name. I am not happy with the result.”

Renele Forde, captain of Trinidad & Tobago: “The game definitely didn’t go our way today. We had a lot of issues in terms of our organization on the court. Our defense didn’t come in today, our blocking was inconsistent and we generally hoped for a better result.”