“To the fleeing enemy, silver bridge.” The Brazilians Pedro Solberg-Gustavo Carvalhaes did not face Jorge Luis Alayo-Noslen Díaz, who scored a 2-0 victory, and topped group A, of the main draw in the beach volleyball Challenge, in Xiamen, China.
The Cubans defeated the French brothers Quincy and Calvin Aye, 2-1 (21-16,16-21,15-10), with 24 points from Alayo -18 on offense, six blocks– and 11 shots from Díaz. The Auriverdes had defeated the Italians Gianluca Dal Corso-Marco Viscovich, 2-1 (21-18, 28-31, 15-12), and advanced in second place in the bracket to the round of 16.
After that favorable start, quarterback Díaz told Granma that “they always go out to fight for gold. Our critical route had to end here but, due to the good results in this World Pro Tour, we are analyzing the possibility of participating in the Elite 16, in Portugal (May 22 to 26) or in the Poland Challenge (May 30 to 2 June), where we would start in the main draw.
«We do not see these tournaments as something difficult, we do what we like, against any rival. We will return, upon finishing in China, to compete in Varadero (18 duos per gender, from May 2 to 5), and if we do not qualify by ranking, we will try to win the Norceca circuit, like last year, which gives us first place the quota to attend the Olympic Games.
If the Caribbean team wins their next match among the 16, against an opponent yet to be defined, they will advance to the quarterfinals.
