Beach Volleyball update: Review of men’s final of 2011 Banco do Brasil
The Olympic duo of Marcio Araujo and Ricardo Santos clinched the top honour at the 2011 Banco do Brasil Beach Volleyball Tour. The final encounter of the tournament was staged on Sunday, January 16 at Camburi Beach in Victoria, Brazil. The pairing of Marcio/Ricardo
took the centre stage, while Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego appeared in the court as second finalist team. The sands of Camburi recorded some extreme action as both teams exhibited a great performance. The match spanned over three sets and finally Marcio/Ricardo
got hold of the title trophy. They settled for gold-ware by posting straight-set victory over opponents.
Marcio/Ricardo vs. Alison/Emanuel 2-1 (20-22, 21-10 and 25-8)
The pairing of Olympians Marcio/Ricardo opened the match on a good note. They showed ambition for victory in the match by producing swift serves. On the other hand, Alison and Emanuel were ready to put up with the challenge. They responded in same tone and
returned opponents’ cruising spikes back in their half. The exchange of long jump-serves and frequent attack attempts of both teams created a lot buzz in the game. The spectators clapped and cheered at almost every good shot. The first-set score shifted up
with a close difference of points. It was a kind of see-saw battle where both sides added quick points. Marcio and Ricardo put up a great fight but luck was on the other side. The first set ended in the favour of Alison/Emanuel (22-20)
However, the team of Marcio and Ricardo followed a different approach in second set and struggled to cover the deficit. The raged-up duo hit incredible shots and managed to build a strong lead in the second set. In the meantime, they strengthened their defence
and saved many crucial points. Alison/Emanuel lost momentum and suffered the set-back. Marcio/Ricardo were simply on fire as they quickly stretched the gap of points. The rival side failed to catch up with lightening speed of Olympians. Marcio/Ricardo closed
the set by posting 21-10 and game-score was tied at 1-1.
The success in second set gave a big boom to Marcio/Ricardo pairing. They hit more convincing shots in third set and clinched points through wonderful aces. The better attack and defence enabled them to cruise past to finish line in third set. The opponents
completely lost ground under their feet and seemed helpless and hopeless. Marcio/Ricardo easily claimed third set with a huge margin of 13 points and declared match victory. Alison/Emanuel settled for second position in the Bonco do Brasil Beach Volleyball
Tournament, while Marcio/Ricardo were tagged as gold-medallist team.
Ricardo was delighted about their first victory in the year 2011. He expressed his views after the match. Ricardo stated:
"We needed six months to win our first trophy in 2010, so I am glad we started 2011 with a title. This is a very important season with Olympic qualification and the FIVB World Championship, and we want to have good results."
Bronze medal match
The bronze medal match of the Banco do Brasil Beach Volleyball Tour was played on the same day. The unsuccessful semi-finalists came across in the third position match. The two sides of the court were captured by Bruno de Paulo/Fernando Magalhaes and Juca
Dultra/Jose Irio Quevedo. The former pairing performed better and dug up success in two consecutive sets. Bruno de Paulo/Fernando Magalhaes sent 21-16 and 21-16 on the board and became the bronze medallist team.
The duo of Bruno/Fernando enjoyed a great form and they played in a great style. They successfully secured the first set with a margin of 5 points. The other team comprising of Juca/Jose couldn’t improve in the second set either. They progressed at the same
pace, which gave way to victory of Bruno/Fernando in second set.
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