Umag, Croatia, June 21, 2013 – Brazil’s Fabio Rodrigo Castro Bastos and Saymon Barbosa Santos ended on top of their pool at the FIVB U21 World Championships in Umag with three straight wins. Besides their good play, the duo is marking their first appearance at a junior world event with exuberance.
Each Brazilian point is celebrated intensely and during side changes Saymon likes to move to the music. “We have a happy and energetic playing style”, Fabio said. “What we want most is to enjoy beach volleyball. There is no reason to be tight and tense on the court.”
After a 2-0 win over Austria’s Dressler and Stranger on Thursday the Brazilians got a touch lucky with their second match on Friday. One of their opponents from Iran, Behnam Tavakoli, got injured and had to forfeit at 7-3 for Iran in the first set.
Step it up against Norway
In their last pool match against Norway’s Andreas Takvam and Runar Torsvik Sannarnes they had to really step it up. Trailing all the way in the first set the Brazilian pair drew level at 19-19 and took the set at their second set point thanks to a Norwegian set fault (22-20).
This gave them confidence as they started with a 4-0 lead in the second. From there on they worked their way up to 21-16. “This was a very intense game”, Fabio said. “I had to push myself really hard. We stayed calm even in the worst moments and kept our focus and did a good job. These results give us confidence for the rest of the tournament.”
Nineteen-year old Fabio and Saymon have been playing on the national tour in Brazil for two years, but Umag is there first FIVB experience. Fabio: “I like this event a lot, I am very happy I can compete with the best players of the world. The level of play is really high.”
Amazon jungle
Fabio is not a typical beach volleyball player. He grew up in the jungle, in the Amazon region. He recently moved to the coastal city of Fortaleza to play beach volleyball. His idol is Brazilian beach volleyball legend Emanuel, a defensive player just like him.
Asked about his expectations for the rest of the event Fabio answered: “We will just take it game by game, play well and keep on going.”
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