Cuba gold and bronze in men’s phase of Varadero

VARADERO, Cuba, May 12, 2019 - The pairs of Sergio González-Luis Reyes (1) and Yosvany Carrasco-Karell Piña (2) secured Cuba of the gold and bronze medals, respectively, of the fourth stop of the Norceca Circuit of Beach Volleyball, held in the sand surrounding the Barceló Solymar Hotel at this icon resort of international tourism.

Sergio now with the slender young partner repeated the victory of last weekend by winning 2-0 (22-20, 21-16) over Ruben Mora and Denis Lopez, who produced the surprise giving Nicaragua for the first time two medals in the same season, after winning the bronze in the second round. The only medal for the country had been a silver in 2012.

For its part, the locals Yosvany Carrasco and Karell Piña climbed the third place of the podium without playing because of no-presentation of Troy Field and Ty Loomis (USA-2), which represented the farewell of the national team for the 31-year-old Piña after many years in the elite and a mark matched in 2017 of three consecutive victories he got with Daisel Quesada.

In the semifinals Mora and Denis beat Field and Loomis (USA-2) with identical sets of 21-14, while Sergio and Luis advanced to the final by beating their compatriots Yosvany and Karell 2-0 (21-19, 21-12 ).

«My years in the sport and after the departure of Nivaldo Díaz I observed his potential (of Reyes). He is fast, strong, disciplined, that together with my skills and experience we made a pair with good chemistry, fundamental in the modality, I always thought that we could climb podiums, I was just training and things flowed, and there is the result, bronze, silver and two golds in that order, said the man who will soon turn 29 years old.

Reyes for his part declared that "I always had that illusion and it became a reality with a man from Sergio's experience and I am trying to contribute as much as I can. In 2017 I achieved bronze here in Varadero with José Luis Barceló, but the following year we did not pass the group, now I perceive that we have raised the level".

Final positions: 1.Sergio González-Luis Enrique Reyes (CUB-1); 2. Rubén Mora-Denis López (NCA); 3. Yosvany Carrasco-Karell Piña (CUB-2); 4. Troy Field-Ty Loomis (USA-2); 5. Eric Zaun-Ian Satterfield (USA-1); 6. Josue Rivera-Kevin López (PUR); 7. Andy Leonardo-Luis García (GUA); 8. Gabriel Barlacu-Liam Kopp (CAN-2); 9. Ivan Reka-Simon Fecteau-Botin (CAN-1); 10. Richard Smith-Sebastián Valenciano (CRC); 11. Marlon Phillip-Daynte Stewart (TTO); 12. José Miguel González-Jason Quintero (PAN); 13. Isaacs Jon-Wilson Kyle (BAH); 14.Bryton Codd-Gabriel Núñez (BIZ); 15.Víctor Castillo-Alex Medina (DOM); 16. Carlos Escobar-David Vargas (ESA); 17. Miguel López Jr-Jordan Lake (ISV).

Men’s Results Sunday:

Gold Medal: CUB-1 d NCA 2-0 (22-20, 21-16); Bronze Medal: CUB-2 d USA-2 (forfeit); Semifinals: NCA d USA-2- 2-0 (21-14, 21-14); CUB-1 d CUB-2- 2-0 (21-19, 21-12); 5-6 USA-1 d PUR 2-0 (21-15, 21-17); 7-8 GUA d CAN (forfeit); 9-10 CAN-1 d CRC 2-0 (27-25, 21-13); 11-12 TTO d PAN (forfeit).