Mexico bags Gold and Bronze at Tijuana Beach Volleyball Tournament
The 2010 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit covered its 8th leg at Tijuana, Mexico from 22nd-26th September, 2010. The Tijuana Beach Volleyball Tournament provided a chance to the Caribbean and American Beach Volleyball teams to show
their talent and special skills. It featured both men’s and women’s matches.
In men’s division, the semi-finals and medal matches were played on Sunday. The Mexican pair of Aldo Miramontes and Juan Virgen clinched the gold-medal by defeating Kinderlan Alvarez and Sergio Gonzalez of Cuba. Another Mexican pair comprising of Lombardo
Ontiveros and Ricardo Ontiveros edged USA’s Joseph Dykstra and Aaron Mansfield to seize the bronze. It seemed that the Mexicans were all over the scene.
Semi-finals:
In the first semi-final, Aldo Miramontes/Juan Virgen (MEX1) clashed with their compatriots Lombardo Ontiveros/Ricardo Ontiveros (MEX2). Both pairs staged an excellent game and received huge applause from the local crowd. MEX2 served well and remained dominant.
They displayed great effort and successfully pulled off first-set win from MEX1. But, the situation drastically changed in the second set as MEX2 hit a few fouls. Aldo and Virgen availed the perfect chance and raised their score. They became stronger as the
game progressed and contributed more points to their score. The game tied at 1-1, and Aldo/Virgen equaled the score by capturing second set (21-18).
The third decisive set saw an exchange of electrifying spikes from both sides. Aldo and Virgen earned three consecutive points and built a lead. They maintained the points gap and achieved success by polling 15-9. MEX1 qualified for the gold-medal match
whereas MEX2 settled for bronze fixture.
Likewise, teams from Cuba and USA also played the other semi-final. The Caribbean players proved their steel and snatched victory from USA. They scored 21-12 and 21-16 in two straight sets and qualified for the final match with Mexico.
Gold medal match:
Aldo Miramontes/Juan Virgen of Mexico were joined by Cuba’s Kinderlan Alvarez/Sergio Gonzalez in the gold medal match. The two teams had earlier enjoyed a terrific run in their previous matches and they clawed their way to the final showdown, which proved
to be a real test of their abilities. The home pair had a huge fan-following waiting for a chance to celebrate victory. The team was expected to exhibit a match winning performance. On the other side of the court, Cuban team was also determined to crush everything
in their way. The combat started with some superb shots while the players received prompt response from the crowd for almost every shot.
The first set remained undecided until last moments. Finally, the Mexican pair put an end to the suspense and scored a fine double-shot to declare victory. Aldo and Virgen remained consistent in repeating the same score of 21-19 in the second set and in
the end, seized the gold-ware.
Bronze medal match:
Lombardo Ontiveros and Ricardo Ontiveros of MEX2 while USA’s Joseph Dykstra and Aaron Mansfield got together for the bronze medal match. USA made their presence felt as they started out really well. Their perfect serves and strong under-hand shots earned
them a lead in the first set. They displayed some solid performance and won the first set after a close fight. The victory was achieved with a difference of two points while posting 21-19.
Meanwhile, the native boys made a comeback in the next set and did a great job at digging and diving. They kept their sharp eyes on the ball-movement and exhibited an impressive play. The clapping and uproar of crowd enabled them to finish the second set
with success. Mexico 2 scored 21-18 and dealt with Americans even-handedly. Afterwards, the 15-point golden set was also claimed by MEX2. With this, they were able to crave their names as bronze medalist.
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