BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Iona University goalkeeper/alumnus Jorge Torres ’20 anchored the Puerto Rico men’s water polo team in cage to the title at the 24th Central American & Caribbean Games hosted in San Salvador, El Salvador, on June 23-July 8.
A native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, and a graduate of Colegio San Jose, Torres helped his native land defeat Venezuela (24-7 W) and El Salvador (23-4 W) in Group B competition to accompany an 8-7 setback versus Cuba. Puerto Rico bested the Bahamas (23-7 W) in the quarterfinals prior to upending Mexico (11-8 W) in the semifinals.
Facing Cuba in the title game, Puerto Rico avenged its Group B defeat by breaking an eight-all tie at the conclusion of the third quarter to claim the Gold Medal with a 9-8 victory.
It marks the first time Puerto Rico claimed the Central American & Caribbean Games title as Jamaica (1938), the Netherlands Antilles (1946), Mexico (1950, 1954, 1959, 1962, 2002, 2014), Cuba (1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2006) and Colombia (2010, 2018) combined for the prior championships.