Denver, Colo. (June 8, 2005) -- BYU outside hitter/middle blocker Victor Batista made his mark at the 2005 USA Open Championship as he led his team to the title and earned tournament MVP honors. It was the second-consecutive year Batista was named the MVP and led his team to the Men's Open Gold Flight Championship, the highest level of competition in the event.
"It was great to win," Batista said. "The teams we played were tough. The team we beat in the championship had former college players and a guy on the US National Team."
Batista played for Bameso, a team made up of seven players from the Dominican Republic, one from England and one from Poland.
Bameso finished undefeated in pool play but lost in the double-elimination tournament to Team Paul Mitchell, a team that had 2004 Olympian Eric Sullivan, 2005 National Team member Jimmy Pelzel, former UCLA standout Mike Sealy and former Pepperdine standout Brad Keenan. Paul Mitchell won the 2003 Open Gold Flight Championship.
Batista led his team past 2-Ball Express to win the losers bracket and earn a spot in the final against Paul Mitchell.
Bameso took the first match in five games, 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12, giving each team one loss and forcing a final elimination match. Bameso again proved to be the better team in the second match, winning another five-game thriller and claiming its second consecutive championship.
"It was harder than last year because we lost in the playoffs and the team we played in the finals had some great players," Batista said. "We were tired at the end because we had played so much but we did it."
Six Bameso players earned all-tournament honors including Batista (MVP), Yassir Sliti (a native of England and an opposite hitter/middle blocker for Long Beach State), Max Valerio, Amaurys Martinez, Arturo Kusio and Christian Cruz.
Batista will be back for his senior season in 2006 to help the Cougars return to the top of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and contend for a national title.