Lucerne, Switzerland, May 16, 2016 – The final of the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships will be a Latin American affair, as Brazil’s George Souto Maior Wanderley and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci take on Josue Gaston Gaxiola Leyva and Jose Luis Rubio Camargo from Mexico.
The Mexicans are about to write history, as they will be the first ones to win a medal for their country in an age-group event. Gaxiola and Rubio reached the final with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-18) win over Norway’s Anders Berntsen Mol and Mathias Berntsen.
“We have had a lot of support and good vibes from back home and we are very proud to have our national flag on the podium”, Gaxiola said. “I was less nervous than yesterday in the match against Switzerland. And also this time the crowd was cheering for us.”
In a rematch of the 2014 U19 semifinal Brazilians George and Arthur beat Venezuela’s Tigrito and Peter once more (21-17, 19-21, 16-14). But it was close, since the Venezuelans had two match points in the tiebreak at 14-12 and 14-13.
“I started thinking too much during the game and we almost lost”, George said. “I didn’t stick to the game plan. But fortunately in the end we managed. It was a great match, but it was mentally exhausting.”
The Brazilians now have the chance of following up U19 gold with a U21 title. Brazil and Mexico met once before this tournament in pool play, where George and Arthur ended up on top: 21-16, 21-10.
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