Cubans lose second match in Itapema stop at Beach Volleyball World Tour

HAVANA, Cuba, May 18 (acn) The Cuban duo of Nivaldo Diaz-Sergio Gonzalez lost in their second game for Pool C in Itapema, Brazil, a stop of the 2017/18 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.

According to the website of the 4-star tournament, the Cubans lost 0-2 (10-21 and 15-21) to the Poles Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak.
Despite this unfavorable outcome, the Caribbean couple advanced to the next round with 1-1 balance as they previously beat 2-0 (25-23 and 21-17) Switzerland´s Nico Beeler-Marco Krattiger .
Diaz and Gonzalez debuted in the 2017-18 World Tour in the stop of Xiamen, China (four stars), where they ranked 25th, with two wins and two losses, thus earning 240 points for the world ranking.
In their second presentation, with a stage in Mersin, Turkey (three stars), they won the bronze medal, with 5-2 balance and 480 units for the universal list.
Between Xiamen and Mersin, they attended the Varadero stop, corresponding to the NORCECA Circuit, where they finished second, gaining 180 points for the NORCECA ranking.
Then they went back to the World Tour and in the tournament of Luzern, Switzerland, they ranked 17th with one win and two losses and amount of 240 units.
The main goal of the Caribbean duet, fifth in Rio 2016 Olympics, for this year is the Barranquilla Central American and Caribbean Games, from July 19 – August 3, where they will defend the crown they won in the previous edition of Veracruz 2014.
Prior to that major competition, they will also attend the World Tour tournaments of Ostrava, Czech Republic; Warsaw, Poland and Esphino, Portugal.