Cuban beach volleyball duo advanced undefeated to round of 16 at Elite 16

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 11 (ACN) The Cuban duo of Noslen Diaz and Jorge Luis Alayo advanced undefeated to the round of 16 of the Elite 16 tournament of the World Beach Volleyball Pro Tour 2025, and today will have a well-deserved rest day in the tournament, which will be held until Sunday in the Brazilian city of Saquarema.

After Thursday's 2-0 and 2-1 victories over Portugal's Joao Nuno Pedrosa and Hugo Campos (21-12 and 21-19) and Poland's Bartosk Losiak and Michal Bryl (15-21, 21-19 and 26-24) in group E of the main draw, in that order, this Friday Diaz and Alayo will be able to recover from an exhausting day and on Saturday look for the success that will guarantee them to continue on their way to the podium.

Although Francisco Alvarez Cutiño's disciples, ninth in the world ranking, did not win a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, they had an outstanding performance - ninth place - recognized by fans and specialists at the multisport event in the City of Light.

To this performance must be added, among other results, those achieved so far in 2025, especially the recent gold medal obtained in the Elite 16 in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

It also stands out the fifth place obtained in the strong Challenger tournament in Yucatan, Mexico, a high-level event that opened the World Beach Volleyball Pro Tour 2025.

Another of the events scheduled on the critical route for Diaz and Alayo is the Elite 16 in Brasilia, Brazil (April 17), to which more must be added, since by the end of the year they will have the world championship in Adelaide, specifically from November 14 to 23.