(By Steve Hopkins)

Puerto Rico entered the team event at the XXIV Juegos Centroamericanos Y Del Caribe (Central American and Caribbean Games) as the top seed.  However, beyond their top player (Brian Afanador who is No. 68), the Puerto Rican team’s respective World Rankings were comparable to Cuba with a number of players around the World No. 200 level.

In the team event, both of these top seeds advanced easily.  Each ran off two wins in the group stages with 3-0 scores.  In the Quarterfinals, Puerto Rico topped Costa Rica 3-0 and Cuba topped Barbados 3-1.  And in the Semifinals, it was Puerto Rico 3-0 over Centro Caribe Sports (a group of athletes from several countries), and Cuba over Venezuela 3-0.

Brian Afanador and Daniel Gonzalez started things off right for Puerto Rico with a 3-1 win over Cuba’s Jorge Campos and Livan Martinez.  Cuba’s Andy Pereira evened the score with a tight 3-2 win over Angel Naranjo.  Daniel Gonzalez needed all five games (including a 15-13 win) to defeate Livan Martinez.  And with a 2-1 lead in hand, the top seeded players faced off with Brian Afanador defeating Andy Pereira 3-1.  Team Puerto Rico secures the win – Daniel Gonzales, Oscan Birriel, Brian Afanador, and Angel Naranjo are gold medalists.

Action continues this week as play turns to singles events.

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