25 Mar 2024
Bellos claim Bronze in Brazil
After a false start in the season-starting Elite 16 event in Doha – where they exited in the first round of qualifying – the twins bounced back by going late into the tournament to clinch 720 ranking points.
They were drawn in a pool with the Estonian pair of Kusti Nõlvak and Mart Tiisaar (ranked 44th in the world) and the Cuban team of Diaz and Alayo (ranked 31st in the world).
By starting strongly with a 2-0 victory over the eastern Europeans, the Bellos confirmed their place in the round of 16 but wanted to finish top of the pool.
After dropping the first set 23-21 to Cuban duo Noslen Diaz and Jorge Alayo, the Bellos bounced back and took the next two sets in a thrilling match, which they claimed 2-1 (21-23, 22-20,15-13).
In their round of 16 match they went up against the second highest ranked team in the tournament in facing the pair from the United States, Trevor Crabb and Theodore Brunner.
This was always going to be a difficult match for the brothers, and the US pair came out fast, taking the first set 21-14.
However, the Bellos struck back and produced a terrific performance taking a close second set 24-22 to set up a final set decider.
There, the English pair were able to edge through 15-13 in a tense finale to tee up a quarter-final against the Dutch pairing of Christiaan Varenhorst and Leon Luini.
The Bellos were on the attack throughout against the US, as Joaquin claimed 18 points with only two attacking errors all game.
Taking this momentum into the quarter-final against the Dutch pair, the Bellos were really able to stretch their wings and took the match in straight sets, albeit both were close and won by just two points, 23-21 each time.
They were helped by five huge blocks for Joaquin en route to playing a pair in the semi-final they had already beaten – Diaz and Alayo from Cuba.
However, battling hard against the sixth ranked team in the tournament, they were not able to replicate the scoreline from the pool matches, with the Cuban pair going into the final with a 2-0 victory (21-18, 21-15).
It meant the British duo would face another American pair of Miles Evans and Chase Budinger in the bronze medal match.
The Bellos took the first set in a thrilling opening to the match, edging through set 26-24 where all their dedication and many hours of pre-season training really came into play.
The US pair battled back in the second set with a 21-15 scoreline, but the Bellos had fought back before and were able to do so again, securing the tie break set with a 15-13 scoreline.
Joaquin finished third in the table for points scored with 119 points won, while Javier topped the table for attacks with 98 and was also top in the diggers leaderboard with 57.
Overall, despite disappointment they could not go all the way and win the tournament, it was nevertheless a great result for the British pair, who head for another Brazilian destination, Saquarema, before moving on to Mexico on 11th April, as the bid to claim all-important ranking points for the Paris Olympics continues.
With their third place finish they are now ranked 30th in the world - their highest ranking to date.
The had this to say about their podium place:
"It feels surreal to make another podium, and to do it during the most competitive Olympic season.
"The fans and atmosphere were just amazing and we fought some really tough battles this week.
"It’s another big step for our team on the road to Paris, but we have to keep working. Next week we have another opportunity in Saquarema, so we are recovering as fast as we can to be fully prepared.
"We are really thankful for our team and for all the support we are receiving from the volleyball community back home. It means everything to us. We need everyone's support to put English Beach Volleyball on the map in the UK."
In Australia, Daisy Mumby and Kirsty Star battled hard and made it into the round of 12 of the Beach Pro Tour Futures tournament in Coolangatta. After winning their opening qualification game against the Canadian pair of May and Lomas they just missed out on a second victory against the Japanese team of Murakami and Riko.
However, with an injury to an Australian pair they made it into the group stages where they were able to claim a 2-0 victory over a Thai pairing of Patcharaporn and Samitta. This got them into the round of 12 but just couldn't carry their momentum into the game against Suzuka and Reika.
However, despite this loss they finished ninth overall Kirsty's first professional tournament giving her some great experience and hopefully will lead to many more tournaments.
Images: CBV and Volleyball World
