The Cuban duo of Damián Gómez and Eblis Veranes won the silver medal this Sunday in the men's category at the eighth stop of the 2026 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Tour, held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, while their fellow countrywomen Kailin Garrido and Maykelin Drik finished in fourth place in the women's category.
In the men's final, the Cuban duo lost to the Mexicans Carlos Andrés Ayala and Inés Lares in three sets, with scores of 19-21, 21-12, and 12-15. The first set was highly contested, Cuba clearly dominated the second, but the Mexicans regained control in the third to take home the gold.
Before the final, Gómez and Veranes had defeated the Dominicans Hayerling De Jesús and Oscar Martínez in the semifinals by 2-0, with scores of 21-15 and 21-13, without dropping a single set.
The men's bronze medal went to Puerto Ricans Diego Rosich and William Rivera, who overcame the Dominican Republic's own De Jesús and Martínez to win 2-1 (17-21, 21-13, 15-12).
In the women's division, Garrido and Drik reached the semifinals, where they faced the Puerto Ricans Keishlyann Sánchez and Allanis Navas and lost in three sets. In the bronze medal match, they competed against the Mexicans Susana Torres and Abril Flores, and again lost 1-2, with set scores of 17-21, 21-18, and 12-15 for the Cubans, finishing out of the podium positions.
What makes the result even more striking is that, in the group stage of the same tournament, Garrido and Drik had defeated those same Mexican players 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-9), highlighting the even level between both pairs.
The gold for women went to the Americans Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep, who crushed Puerto Rico in the final with identical scores of 21-12 in both sets.
The silver medal of Gómez and Veranes becomes more significant when considering the context of Cuban beach volleyball: in February 2026, the star duo Noslén Díaz and Jorge Luis Alayo disassociated from INDER due to unpaid international awards exceeding 107,000 dollars.
It's not the first time the couple has reached the continental podium: in December 2025, they already won the silver at the NORCECA Tour final, held in Juan Dolio against the Canadians Schachter and Pickett.
The season is not over yet. The final stop of the NORCECA Tour 2026, scheduled in Juan Dolio from December 14 to 18, will award double points and will be crucial for qualification to the Pan American Games in Lima 2027, where NORCECA will distribute seven men’s spots and seven women’s spots.
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