Cuban Duet beat American Pair in Beach Volleyball World Tour

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 29 (acn) The Cuban duo of Nivaldo Diaz and Sergio Gonzalez beat today Americans Casey Patterson and Stafford Slik, in their second outing at the 4-star stop of Warsaw, Poland, corresponding to the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.

Diaz and Gonzalez won 2-1 (21-17, 19-21 and 18-16) and thus managed to advance to the Men´s Round 1 where they will face, also today, Russians Krasilnikov-Liamin.
The Caribbean pair lost 0-2 (15-21 and 15-17) to the Latvian duo of Janis Smedins-Aleksanders Samoilovs in their debut for Pool G.
In their last performance on the World Tour, based in Ostrava, Czech Republic - four stars -, Diaz and Gonzalez ranked 17th, with one win and two losses, result that earned them 230 points to the world ranking.
Their first participation in the World Tour this year was in the stop of Xiamen, China -four stars-, where they finished 25th, with two victories and two losses, and 240 points for the ranking of the planet.
In their second incursion, with stage in Mersin, Turkey - three stars –, they won the bronze medal, with five wins and two losses, and 480 units for the universal list.
Between Xiamen and Mersin, Diaz and Gonzalez competed in the Varadero stop, in Cuba, corresponding to the NORCECA Circuit, where they were the runners-up and earned 180 points for the regional ranking.
They also attended the world stages of Luzern -three stars-, in Switzerland, where they were early eliminated with three consecutive defeats; and in Itapema -four stars, Brazil, where they ranked ninth and won 400 points to the world ranking.
Diaz-Gonzalez´s main goal this year is the Central American and Caribbean Games of Barranquilla, Colombia, which will take place from July 19 to August 3.
There, they will try to repeat the gold medal they won in the previous edition of Veracruz 2014.
Prior to Barranquilla 2018, they will also attend the World Tour stop of Esphino, Portugal - four stars - from next July 4 to 8.