Tina/Anastasija and Seidl/Pristauz triumph in Nuvali
Beach Pro Tour
European teams had another strong performance at the international level as the 2023 Volleyball Beach Pro Tour season nears its end, with four medals won in Nuvali, the Philippines, this week.
Teams from Latvia, Austria, Spain and Lithuania made it to the podium at the Asian event, which was the last Challenge tournament of the international season, giving Europe two golds, one silver and one bronze medals.
The women’s tournament had an all-European final, with two-time continental champions Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia downing Spanish Daniela Álvarez and Tania Moreno, the silver medalists of this year’s CEV EuroBeachVolley, in two sets (21-14, 21-18).
The victory marked the first international title of the two, who have been playing world-class events since 2017 and have shared the same side of the court in 47 tournaments around the world.
Tina Graudina“We were looking forward to playing the Spanish because we had a tough loss against them at the EuroBeachVolley and it was nice to get revenge. They were really good on defense in the second set and we had to really play at our best to win. It was very hot and humid and this tournament was challenging from a physical standpoint but we made it. It was a greay way to finish the season.”
Latvian Beach Volleyball Player
Europe came up one win away short of getting a full medal sweep in the Philippines as French Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard appeared in the bronze medal match, but fell to Brazilians Tainá Bigi and Victoria Lopes in two sets (21-17, 21-14).
In the men’s event, Austrians Robin Seidl and Moritz Pristauz secured their second title in the season, following a victory in Goa, India, in October. In Nuvali, they triumphed in straight sets (21-18, 21-16) in the gold medal match over Australians Thomas Hodges and Zachary Schubert.
Robin Seidl“It’s really nice that we came here and didn’t lose any matches. It’s very rare, but it happens and I’m really happy that we did it, we were very confident. Ending the season with a title is great. I’m looking forward to having some time off now, but also to getting back and preparing for the next season.”
Austrian Beach Volleyball Player
Lithuanians Patrikas Stankevicius and Audrius Knasas were the fourth team from the continent to step on the podium in the event after they prevailed in the all-European bronze medal match against the English Bello twins Joaquin and Javier, winning in the tie-breaker (23-21, 17-21, 15-10).
The last event of the 2023 Beach Pro Tour will be the Finals, which will take place in Doha, Qatar, next week, with the top ten teams of the season in each gender – Europe will have seven men’s duos and four women’s sides in action.