The Cuban men's volleyball team was eliminated from the final of the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 after losing to Colombia 3-2 in the semifinal held on Wednesday, with set scores of 25-27, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19, and 15-12.
The result, reported by the state sports media JIT, means that Cuba will not be able to defend the title it reclaimed in San Salvador 2023, its first regional crown in this discipline since 1998.
Colombia will advance to the final to face Puerto Rico for the gold medal, while the Cubans will have to settle for fighting for bronze against Mexico, in a rematch of the duel for third place from Barranquilla 2018, when the Mexicans triumphed in five sets.
The Cuban technical director Jesús Cruz did not shy away from self-criticism after the match: “Tonight we stopped doing our part, and Colombia took advantage of the gaps we had in the game.”
The statistics reflect a match in which Cuba relinquished ground where it hurt the most: Colombia dominated the blocking 15-12 and took advantage of the 38 unforced errors from the Caribbean team, which made seven more than their rivals.
Although Cuba slightly outperformed in offense (53-52) and in service (6-2), difficulties in play distribution and the performance of the opposite player ultimately tipped the balance in favor of the Colombian side.
Marlon Yant was the top Cuban scorer with 24 points, followed by Miguel Ángel López and Daniel Martínez with 13 each, while Roamy Alonso contributed 10.
Miguel Ángel Martínez stood out for Colombia with 18 points, followed by Leandro Mejía (14), Heider Banguera (11), and Juan Castañeda (10), key players of a team that displayed determination and defensive strength.
Cruz also explained that the team had to take on forced role changes throughout the tournament, including the starting position of the young passer Ronaldo Flaquet, who is just 19 years old and has limited previous experience from last year's Youth World Cup.
"I had never done it at this level, not even with the senior team. The same happened with Martínez, as players who came in with one role ended up in another because those who were supposed to fill it were unable to do so," stated the coach.
The setback comes at a time of inconsistency for Cuban men's volleyball: the team finished the 2026 Nations League in 16th place out of 18, with only three wins and nine losses, highlighting the team's difficulties on a global scale.
In the overall context of the Games, Cuba was in third place in the medal standings of Santo Domingo 2026 as of July 27, with six golds, two silvers, and six bronzes, within a delegation of 504 athletes across 42 disciplines.
Cruz made it clear what the immediate horizon for the team is: "Now we have to go out and contend for the bronze medal and achieve the best possible result, of course, and then prepare the team for the Olympic and World qualifying event scheduled for September."
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