Home duo Ricardo Santos, Pedro Cunha satisfied with bronze at Brasilia Open – Volleyball news
The men’s bronze medal match of 2012 Brasilia Open on Sunday featured Brazil’s third-seeded Ricardo Santos/Pedro Cunha and fifth-seeded Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera of Spain.
The former duo posted 21-18, 21-14 on board and claimed 2-0 victory in the important match. Elsewhere, the American Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers seized the gold medal by winning final match against compatriots Fuerbringer and Lucena.
The local duo had the obvious advantage of playing at home and they totally profited it. A huge number of rowdy Brazilian fans came to support their team, while it was a sort of double-challenge for Spaniards to deal with the pressure from both sides.
However, Gavira/Herrera opened the match on a strong footing and did not take any pressure of the situation. They were appearing in their 11th ‘final four’ match and 33rd SWATCH FIVB World Tour event, which made them quite experienced on the court.
On the other hand, the Brazilian players had given only six appearances together at the SWATCH FIVB Tour. The opening phase of the first set featured a balanced fight and both teams added back-to-back points. The score frequently tied and lead was traded.
Overall, it was a close competition up till 12-12 but the Brazilian hotshots pulled ahead afterwards.
They added points via long cross court shots and also scored on tricky bump passes. The Spanish duo failed to dig most of their kills and suffered the set back. The hosts closed the opening set 21-18 and went on front with 1-0 lead in the match.
Carrying the same momentum into next second frame, Brazilian pair stormed Spanish half with flurry of attacks. Ricardo and Cunha did not waste a single chance to score points. With a better combination of attack and defence, they promptly picked up the lead.
Spanish side resisted in full force and tried to break the rhythm of opponents.
Nonetheless, the charged-up Brazilian tandem denied all their efforts and cruised past 21-14 win in the second and final set.
Brazilian team pulled off success in the bronze medal match and gave a good reason of celebration to the home audience. By claiming the bronze at men’s edition of the Brasilia Open, Ricardo and Cunha emerged as the only team in top three rankings of the
competition.
“It is very important for our team to start the international season with a podium placement,” said Ricardo. “The FIVB SWATCH World Tour is our top priority this season and with this result we are close to achieving our biggest goal of representing Brazil
in the Olympics. We earned important points, which will improve our position in the ranking and that will help us in the next tournaments. I am glad as we are having the results we expected.”
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