Puerto Rico tops Dominican Republic in 4 sets in Final Six opener

Klistan Lawrence Vidal at the net for Puerto Rico during the host team’s opening match against the Dominican Republic on Sunday at the NORCECA Men’s Final Six in Ponce.

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico opened its NORCECA Men’s Final Six campaign with a four-set victory (25-22, 23-25, 25-23 and 25-22) over the Dominican Republic at Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium in Ponce on Sunday.

Team Puerto Rico needed some time to adjust to the setting and atmosphere of the large arena, but once settled on the court, they were able to impose their rhythm during the match’s decisive moments.

The victory was built on offensive consistency and the ability to close out sets under pressure, although captain Arnel Cabrera noted that Puerto Rico would look to significantly improve its serving during practice as the week progresses.

“We’ve had success against the Dominican Republic in recent matches,” Cabrera said after the match. “They are always hard-fought, gritty games, and we came mentally prepared for a tough match because we know the demands of this tournament while playing in front of our home crowd.”

In the third set, with the match tied at one set apiece, Puerto Rico reached set point first at 24-23 thanks to a well-executed play in the middle by Ismael Alomar, and closed out with a block by Pelegrín Vargas against Adrián José Figueroa Lantigua.

In the fourth set, the Dominican Republic came from behind to tie the score at 21 following an unsuccessful attack by Vargas, then took a 22-21 lead with a block by Moisés Alexander Ortiz Valdez against Klistan Lawrence Vidal. However, Puerto Rico responded with two consecutive points, including an attack by Vargas, to reclaim the lead at 23-22. The match concluded on an ace by Jonathan Rodríguez that sealed the win and a positive start for Team Puerto Rico.

Pedro Molina led the Puerto Rican offense with 20 points, followed by Lawrence and Vargas with 15 points each.

Ortiz Valdez and Héctor Alexis Cruz Cepín led the Dominican Republic with 14 points each, while Edwad Domingo Rojas de Jesús added 10.

Puerto Rico held a significant advantage in attacks (58-42), and prevailed in blocks (12-9), and aces (7-3).

The Dominican Republic committed 21 errors, while Puerto Rico recorded 38.