Cubans and Mexicans with impressive debut in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, August 7, 2016 – Cuba’s Nivaldo Diaz and Sergio Gonzalez and Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen enjoyed wins against higher-ranked teams on the second day of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games beach volleyball tournament at Copacabana Beach Arena on Sunday.

With Pool D considered the toughest of the six men’s group with teams from Canada and Latvia filling the other two spots, Diaz and Gonzalez were never “rattled” in the 63-minute match in posting a 2-1 (24-22, 21-23, 15-13 win over Evandro and Pedro.  

It all came down to the third set in an opening Pool C men’s match here Sunday as Ontiveros and Virgen posted an upset win over Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai of Italy 2-1 (14-21, 21-14, 15-11) win in 50 minutes.

USA’s Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena enjoyed a smoother introduction to Rio 2016 when they defeated Tunisia’s Mohamed Naceur and Choaib Salah 2-0 (21-7, 21-13).

Pool D play resumes Tuesday for both teams with Evandro and Pedro playing Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk of Canada while the Cubans challenge Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins of Latvia, the top team on the 2015-2016 FIVB World Tour ranking list.