#RoadToTokyo: Canada fly to Tokyo Olympic Games!

The Canada Volleyball National Team has joined the party at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games!
After prevailing over the biggest rivals for playing at the 2020 Olympic Games, Cuba, in the penultimate round of the qualification tournament, Canada didn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate progression to the top sport event in the Japanese capital on home soil in Vancouver. On the last day of the tournament, they destroyed Puerto Rico by a 3-0 (25:21, 25:15, 25:15).
Arthur Szwarc was the top scorer for Canada with 13 points. Thus, Canada annulled the 3-1 vicyory of Cuba against Mexico. The team coached by Glenn Hoag will appear at the Olympic Games for the 5th time, 2nd in a row.

Reactions:
Oscar Antonetti, Puerto Rico’s coach: “Canada were prepared and played a very physical game. We competed, we played fast but they were the better team. We wanted to serve well and see how they reacted to that, and put some pressure on them. They did well and kept their distance throughout the match and always had an advantage.
It’s a matter of seeing what we have, seeing the opportunities. We’re here and hopefully we’ll get better and see what happens in the next four years. We want to thank Canada for their hospitality, they treated us really well, you can tell culturally, it’s a great country.”

Maurice Torres, Puerto Rico’s captain: “We knew it was going to be really tough against Canada in front of the home crowd. We had to give it our all but they were pretty much flawless. The game plan was to have fun, we have nothing to lose, to play without any pressure and play our hearts out. We started off a little up and down, then we started the second set well but then the same things happened. We’ll take this as a learning experience and we’ll try and focus on the next four years.
We’re going to go back to the drawing board. I love these guys and love being a part of team Puerto Rico.
Thank you to the fans that all came, they were amazing and it’s so amazing to see it in a place like Vancouver, Canada.”

Daniel Jansen Vandoorn, Canada’s player: “It was a little hard to get to sleep last night after Cuba. We had to reset, we knew it wasn’t done but we also knew the ball was in our court and it was our tournament to lose. I’m proud of the way our guys responded and we put together a clean match. This has been the highlight of my career. It was quite the experience. I’m so proud of the fans for not giving up on us and they deserve this as much as we do. International volleyball is not a sport Canadians get to see live very often, we faced some adversity on the court as individuals and as a team but we fought through it and we put together a great performance. I’m looking forward to Tokyo!”

Ryan Sclater, Canada’s player: “This weekend was a product of lots of years of hard work. Lots of people are seeing us for the first time or once a year but to be able to come into the game and be confident that we’re going to go to Tokyo, that’s not something you create in the moment, it takes years of hard work.
It’s been a crazy journey for me. I was really struck by the guys’ passion who played in Rio before. They commit fully to the team and commit to the guys who have never been there before and didn’t take anything for granted even though they’ve been there once.”

Glenn Hoag, Canada’s head coach: “It was exciting for the fans, exciting for the sport and a very emotional win for us.
It will be my fourth time, third as a coach, it’s a great feeling every time, it’s a dream come true.
We have to look at what we need to do from now until when we go to Tokyo, to really perform at the best level and challenge the best teams in the world. We have a good level, I think we can have a better level.”

2020 NORCECA Volleyball Olympic Qualifier – Round 3

January 12:
Cuba – Mexico 3-1 (26:28, 25:20, 25:20, 25:21)
Canada – Puerto Rico 3-0 (25:21, 25:15, 25:15)

Source and photo: volleyball.coqt.2020.fivb.com