PANAMA CITY.- The Panamanian Men’s Volleyball National Team will present to the President of their country, Mr. Martin Torrijos, the champions’ trophy they obtained in the XIII Central American Cup disputed last week in Honduras.

Javier Ortega, chief of the Panamanian delegation who last night arrived to Panama City, said they hope to meet with President Torrijos on this week “to present him the cup.”

“We come back really proud with this cup that we dedicate to all the people of Panama,” said Ortega.

The Panamanian Selection was received at the airport by a group of sports authorities led by Anibal Reluz, technical director of the Sports National Institute.

Panama defeated Honduras 3-0 in a match between unbeaten teams to win its sixth crown in the history of the regional competition.

Jose Alberto Remon, the veteran coach, had tears of joy after the victory over Honduras and said that “it does not look like that, but the toughest rivals of Panama were Belize and Nicaragua.”

The triumph over Honduras was some kind of a relieve for a ten year frustration of Remon. “In 1994 Honduras went to Panama and won the crown, and now is a late but sweet revenge and I feel very happy,” he said.

Ronny Fernandez, the coach of Honduras, cried after the loss and recognized that “Panama made the difference with the physical presence that we lacked.”

The size, technique and strength of Panama overmatched its opponents in the tournament. They also defeated Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador to finish with a 6-0 record.

The members of the champion squad include Felix Sabio, who is running for a candidacy as member of the Parliament within the opposition Liberal Party, and Luis Salgado, who plays for the Granada University in Spain.

Salgado said that unfortunately he only reported to the team 10 days before the tournament and could not have his best performance.

The final positions of the tournament were as follow: Panama 6-0, Honduras 5-1, Costa Rica 4-2, El Salvador 3-3, Nicaragua 2-4, Belize 1-5, Guatemala 0-6.