A silver medal was respectable; the loss stung.
Bajo el sol de Playa Miramar, dos parejas cubanas de voleibol de playa continúan su travesía por el Norceca Tour, esa cadena de torneos regionales que traza el camino hacia los Juegos Panamericanos de Lima 2027. Gómez-Veranes, que llegaron a la final en Santo Domingo, y Garrido-Drik, que van ganando terreno en el circuito, representan en México algo más que resultados: representan la paciencia y la acumulación de experiencia que exige el deporte de alto rendimiento. En un circuito que recorre doce naciones y reúne a treinta parejas, cada partido es un escalón, y cada derrota, una lección que la arena guarda.
- Gómez y Veranes llegan a México con la espina clavada de una final perdida en Santo Domingo ante los mexicanos Lares y Ayala en un ajustado tercer set.
- Garrido y Drik, novenas en su debut, buscan escalar posiciones en un cuadro femenino de catorce parejas donde cada punto del circuito cuenta para la clasificación.
- Treinta parejas de doce países se disputan en Playa Miramar no solo una victoria, sino los puntos que abren las puertas a Lima 2027 y al clasificatorio olímpico de Puerto Rico en noviembre.
- Cuba tendrá su propio turno como anfitriona en junio y julio en Varadero, donde la arena conocida podría ser el factor que incline la balanza a favor de las parejas nacionales.
- Con la clasificación a los Juegos Centroamericanos ya asegurada, el horizonte inmediato está claro, pero el verdadero desafío —Lima y más allá— exige mantener el ritmo semana tras semana.
Dos parejas cubanas de voleibol de playa compiten este fin de semana en México en la cuarta parada del Norceca Tour, el circuito regional que sirve de puente hacia los Juegos Panamericanos de Lima 2027. Damián Gómez y Eblis Veranes, en la rama masculina, y Kailin Garrido y Maykelin Drik, en la femenina, se presentan en el complejo deportivo de Playa Miramar junto a 30 parejas de doce naciones, desde Estados Unidos y Canadá hasta Nicaragua y las Islas Caimán.
No es la primera vez que estas parejas se miden en el tour. Semanas atrás, en la playa de Güibia en Santo Domingo, Gómez y Veranes llegaron hasta la final masculina, donde cayeron ante los mexicanos Antonio Lares y Carlos Andrés Ayala en tres sets disputados. La medalla de plata fue un logro, pero también un recordatorio de lo que falta. Garrido y Drik, por su parte, terminaron novenas en el cuadro femenino tras superar en el marcador a la pareja canadiense Prokofieva-Crossfield en un tiebreaker cerrado.
El calendario que viene es exigente. Cuba acogerá dos paradas más del circuito en Varadero, en junio y julio, antes de que el tour continúe por Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador y Honduras. Ambas parejas ya tienen asegurada su participación en los Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe en Santo Domingo, programados para finales de julio. Pero el objetivo mayor —Lima 2027— pasa primero por un clasificatorio olímpico en Puerto Rico en noviembre.
El voleibol de playa caribeño no da tregua: los rankings se mueven semana a semana y una pareja que gana plata hoy puede estar persiguiendo el oro mañana. Gómez, Veranes, Garrido y Drik lo saben, y saben también que cuando el tour llegue a Varadero, jugar en casa puede ser exactamente el impulso que necesitan.
Two Cuban beach volleyball pairs took the court in Mexico this weekend as part of the ongoing Norceca Tour, the regional competition that feeds directly into qualification for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima. Damián Gómez and Eblis Veranes, competing in the men's bracket, and Kailin Garrido and Maykelin Drik, in the women's, arrived in Mexico for the fourth stop of a circuit that has been moving steadily through the Caribbean and Central America since spring.
The tournament, held at the Playa Miramar sports complex from May 22 to 24, drew 16 men's pairs and 14 women's pairs from twelve nations. The roster read like a map of the region: the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Costa Rica, the Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Mexico itself. For many of these teams, the Norceca circuit represents their primary pathway to Pan American qualification—a series of stepping stones across the warm-water capitals of the hemisphere.
This was not the Cuban pairs' first rodeo on the tour. Both teams had debuted just weeks earlier in Santo Domingo, competing on the sands of Güibia beach in the Dominican Republic. That second stop of the season had already revealed something about where each pair stood. Gómez and Veranes had reached the men's final, only to fall to Mexico's Antonio Lares and Carlos Andrés Ayala in a tight three-set match, 21-17, 11-21, 15-7. The silver medal was respectable; the loss stung. Garrido and Drik, meanwhile, had finished ninth in the women's draw, but not without a win—they defeated Canada's Anna Prokofieva and Claire Crossfield in a tiebreaker, 21-18, 11-21, 11-15, to secure that placement.
The calendar ahead is dense. Cuba itself will host two more Norceca stops, both in Varadero: one from June 3 to 7, and another from July 1 to 5. The circuit will also touch down in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and back to El Salvador again before the summer is through. Each tournament offers points, ranking, and the chance to prove readiness for the larger stage.
For Gómez, Veranes, Garrido, and Drik, qualification for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo is already secured—those matches run July 25 to 31, and the Cuban pairs know their opponents and brackets. The women will compete in Group B; the men in Group D. Twenty-two pairs total will compete across four brackets. But the real prize remains Lima 2027, and before that comes an Olympic qualifier in Puerto Rico in November, where these same pairs will need to prove themselves again against the continent's best.
Beach volleyball in the Caribbean moves fast. The sand shifts, the rankings change week to week, and a team that wins silver one month might find itself chasing gold the next. For now, Gómez and Veranes carry the weight of that Santo Domingo final—a match they nearly won. Garrido and Drik are climbing. Both pairs know the tour will return to Cuban soil soon enough, and home sand has a way of sharpening focus.
Citas Notables
The pairs are competing for remaining spots toward the 2027 Lima Pan American Games qualification— Norceca Tour structure
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a regional beach volleyball tour matter so much to these Cuban pairs?
Because it's the only path to the Pan American Games. There are no shortcuts. You have to compete in these stops, accumulate results, and prove you belong at the bigger tournaments. One silver medal in Santo Domingo doesn't guarantee anything.
So when Gómez and Veranes lost that final to the Mexican pair, what does that loss actually mean for their season?
It means they know exactly what they're chasing. They saw the level they need to reach. Mexico is strong—they won gold. Now Cuba hosts two more stops at home, and that's where you can build momentum and confidence before the Games.
Garrido and Drik finished ninth in Santo Domingo. Is that a setback?
Not necessarily. They beat a Canadian pair to get there. They're still learning the circuit, still finding their rhythm as a team. The real test comes when they play at home in Varadero. That's where you see if a team has grown.
What's the actual stakes here—beyond just qualification?
The stakes are Pan American Games qualification, yes, but also Olympic qualification later. These pairs are building toward Los Angeles 2028. Every tournament is a data point. Every loss teaches you something about the gap you need to close.
Why does Cuba hosting two stops matter?
Home court changes everything in beach volleyball. The sand is familiar, the weather is known, the crowd understands the sport. It's where you can play your best volleyball, and it's where you can make a statement to the rest of the region.