The Brazilian men’s under-21 team gave Puerto Rico a hard time, but started with a loss in the Pan American Cup in Gatineau (CAN) on Tuesday. Playing against a rival who will be at the next World Cup, in Poland and Slovenia, Brazil lost in four sets, partials of 25-21, 25-18, 21-25 and 27-25.
Puerto Rico is using the competition as the final stage of preparation for the main adult competition of the season, in two weeks. At the World Cup, the Caribbean team in Group A, alongside Serbia, Ukraine and Tunisia, is based in the Polish city of Katowice.
Led by Guilherme Novaes, Brazil’s U21 side struggled early in the game to control Puerto Rico’s serve. The foundation was even responsible for nine aces. From the third set, with a more stable pass and a more marked blocking (nine points), the Brazilian team balanced the actions and narrowly missed the definition of the tie-break, after wasting important counter-attacks .
In the final game, even, tempers flared and the referee, with very questionable markings, ended up giving each side a red card.
The top scorer of the match was the Brazilian against Samuel, with 22 points, including the 2nd in attack. Winger and captain Arthur Bento added 13. On the Puerto Rico side, three players reached double digits: Lawrence (18), Molina (16) and Vargas (15).
After the Pan American Cup, Brazil will face Mexico again this Wednesday at 3 p.m. and Canada on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The entire competition is broadcast by Canadian YouTube Federation.
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