2006 Men’s World Championship – Costa Rica
Costa Rica & Guatemala first Norceca men’s teams to advance to second round (FIVB)
05/22/2005
San
Jose, Costa Rica, May 22, 2005 - Costa Rica and
Guatemala had the distinct honour of becoming the first
men’s teams from Norceca to advance to the 2006 Men’s
World Championship second round after finishing first
and second respectively at the first round tournament -
Norceca Pool C in San Jose on Sunday following victories
over Honduras (25-19, 25-22, 25-16) and Nicaragua
(25-21, 25-21, 25-23) on the final day.
The Costa Rica tournament is the first of three Norceca
first round events, which will find four teams to
advance to the second round, where two more tournaments
await, from where four sides will be confirmed to play
in the 2006 Men’s World Championship final round.
The next two Norceca men’s first round tournaments will
be in Trinidad & Tobago, May 25-29, and Barbados from
June 15-19. Pic: Costa Rica's Andres Lopez spikes against Honduras
But it was the Costa Rica fans who had the first chance
to cheer on their team as they witnessed three of their
players score in double figures in their third win in as
many matches. Captain Alexander Villegas and Raul Chacon
each scored 12 points and Darnley Edwards added 10
sending Costa Rica to the next round in Havana (August
17-21) against Canada, Panama, Cuba and the winner of
the Trinidad & Tobago tournament that starts on
Wednesday.
“We achieved our goal and the team improved with the
competition and you all saw that today,” said Alberto
Travieso, the Costa Rican coach. “Now we have to keep
the hard work going and go to Cuba to do our best.”
Honduras, who had injury problems since the first day,
could not stop the speedy actions of Costa Rican setters
Fabian Monge and Villegas.
“I am very happy to qualify for the next phase and for
receiving this unexpected award,” Villegas, who was
elected the Most Valuable Player, said. ”Now we will
have the chance to play against teams of a higher
level.”
Meanwhile, Guatemala finished in the second slot, ahead
of Honduras and Nicaragua respectively, to move to the
next round in Puerto Rico (August 22-28) against USA,
Mexico, the host team and the winner of the event in
Barbados.
Led by their captain Hugo Garcia, the Guatemalans beat
Nicaragua in just under 90 minutes and once again relied
on good defence that in the end, provided better
attacking options.
“I am very happy with the outcome and even more so
because we did not have much time for preparing for this
tournament,” said Alvinzi Pelaez, the coach of
Guatemala. “Our goal now is to do a good job in the next
round.”
San
Jose, Costa Rica, May 22, 2005 - Costa Rica and
Guatemala had the distinct honour of becoming the first
men’s teams from Norceca to advance to the 2006 Men’s
World Championship second round after finishing first
and second respectively at the first round tournament -
Norceca Pool C in San Jose on Sunday following victories
over Honduras (25-19, 25-22, 25-16) and Nicaragua
(25-21, 25-21, 25-23) on the final day.