Gold medal comeback for Ruben Mora and Danny Lopez of Nicaragua

Gold medal comeback for Ruben Mora and Danny Lopez of Nicaragua

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, December 8, 2017. - Ruben Mora and Danny Lopez of Nicaragua snatched the gold medal of the men’s Beach Volleyball tournament of the eleventh Central American Games Managua 2017 with a comeback victory over Andy Leonardo and Luis Garcia of Guatemala.

With the Salvador Allende beach volleyball venue at Paseo Xolotlan at full capacity and a splendid weather, hosts Mora and Lopez prevailed 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 15-10) over Leonardo/Garcia. An impressive crowd supported Ruben and Danny in every point won or lost.

Leonardo’s great timing in blocking and Garcia’s clever moves kept Ruben and Danny under control in set one. Ruben and Danny’s spectacular reaction was powerful with assertive spikes and limited errors to pull out the win in three sets.

This is Nicaragua’s second and consecutive gold medal, the first for Ruben Mora and Danny Lopez. For Guatemala, this is their second medal in the Games, Andy Leonardo and Luis Garcia won the bronze in the past edition.

Danny said they were well prepared to win the title, “we were focused in winning the gold medal here at home. We didn’t pressure ourselves, our performance was smooth, and we knew that all our training was done responsibly”.

Ruben expressed “we must thank many persons and sport authorities; this victory is not only ours; special thanks you to the crowd, their support was crucial tonight. I also want to thank my family and San Juan Del Sur”.

Silver medalists Andy Leonardo said “we had a good start and I believe we were overconfident in the second set; they played with all their energy and the crowd’s support was incredible. The outcome only motivates us to work harder and take advantage of our Federation’s and our Olympic Committee’s support”.

Richard Smith alongside Sebastian Valenciano won the bronze medal match to Carlos “Tato” Escobar and David “Pepe” Vargas of El Salvador by thrilling 2-0 (21-13, 23-21). Richard and Sebastian set their rhythm in set one to hold off Tato and Pepe. Things were totally different in set two as Pepe’s tenacity challenged the Costa Rican duo.

A very emotional Richard said “I want to thank God in first place; we struggled a lot to win this medal. I am very excited to go back home with this medal, this medal seems like a gold one for me. We had to overcome many difficulties to be here and I am really happy”.

Final Standing: 1. Rubén Mora/Danny Lopez (NCA); 2. Andy Leonardo/Luis Garcia (GUA); 3. Richard Smith/Sebastian Valenciano (CRC); 4. Carlos Escobar/David Vargas (ESA); 5. Irvin Reyes/Manuel Serrano (HON); 6. Davis Montero/Elmar Valdez (PAN); 7. Luis Luna/Gabriel Nuñez (BIZ).

Men’s Results Friday December 8:

5-6: Irvin Reyes/Manuel Serrano (HON) d Davis Montero/Elmar Valdez (PAN) 2-0 (21-17, 21-18); SF: Rubén Mora/Danny Lopez (NCA) d Richard Smith/Sebastian Valenciano (CRC) 2-0 (21-11, 21-18); Bronze Medal Match: Richard Smith/Sebastian Valenciano (CRC) d Carlos Escobar/David Vargas (ESA) 2-0 (21-13, 23-21); Gold Medal Match: Rubén Mora/Danny Lopez (NCA) d Andy Leonardo/Luis Garcia (GUA) 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 15-10).