|
LUCERNE, Switzerland, May 16, 2016 – The final of the 2016 FIVB
Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships will be a Latin
American affair, as Brazil’s George Souto Maior Wanderley and
Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci take on Josue Gaston Gaxiola Leyva
and Jose Luis Rubio Camargo from Mexico.
The Mexicans are about to write history, as they will be the
first ones to win a medal for their country in an age-group
event. Gaxiola and Rubio reached the final with a 2-0 (22-20,
21-18) win over Norway’s Anders Berntsen Mol and Mathias
Berntsen.
“We have had a lot of support and good vibes from back home and
we are very proud to have our national flag on the podium”,
Gaxiola said. “I was less nervous than yesterday in the match
against Switzerland. And also this time the crowd was cheering
for us.”
In a rematch of the 2014 U19 semifinal Brazilians George and
Arthur beat Venezuela’s Tigrito and Peter once more (21-17,
19-21, 16-14). But it was close, since the Venezuelans had two
match points in the tiebreak at 14-12 and 14-13.
“I started thinking too much during the game and we almost
lost”, George said. “I didn’t stick to the game plan. But
fortunately in the end we managed. It was a great match, but it
was mentally exhausting.”
The Brazilians now have the chance of following up U19 gold with
a U21 title. Brazil and Mexico met once before this tournament
in pool play, where George and Arthur ended up on top 21-16,
21-10. |
