Beach Duo Gómez and Veranes Begin Today in NORCECA Final Stage

The Cuban beach volleyball duo of Damián Gómez and Eblis Veranes will debut today in the opening session of Group D at the Final Stage and eleventh stop of the 2025 NORCECA Tour, which will run through Sunday on the sands of Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic.

According to www.norceca.net, Cuba’s second pair will face Canada’s Schachter–Pickett duo and the United States’ Cory–Bradford team this Friday, in that order.

On Saturday, at the conclusion of the preliminary round, the Cubans will take on the Virgin Islands’ pair of Mayer–Penberthy.

Saturday’s schedule will also include the quarterfinal matches, while Sunday will feature the semifinals and the contests for bronze and gold medals.

Securing medals will be important for all participating pairs, but even more critical will be earning a berth to the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, a multisport event that will include a minimum of 12 teams per gender.

A total of 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams from 17 countries registered for the tournament.

Gómez and Veranes arrived in the Dominican Republic with the silver medal from the Punta Cana stop and bronze medals from both Guadalajara and Varadero.

Among the men’s duos, the Mexican pair of Inés Vargas and Carlos Andrés Ayala stand out as favorites, having won gold in Puerto Cortés, silver in Suriname, and bronze in both Punta Cana and the previous stop in Juan Dolio.

They also earned a bronze medal at this year’s U21 World Championship in Puebla.

For the United States, Cory and Bradford are notable as the champions in Guadalajara, while for Canada, the experienced Schachter stands out alongside Pickett, bronze medalists in the NORCECA Qualification Tournament for the 2025 World Championship.