10/05/2015 16:55
Israel’s men and Finland’s women runners-up in Limassol
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men & Women
Limassol, Cyprus, May 10, 2015. Yesterday it was the ‘Oranje’ men who were celebrating, but on Sunday the day belonged to Israel who finished second in Pool G, at the same time claiming qualification into the fourth round of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup being joined there by Finland whose teams settled for third place in Limassol. The Finns were happy with second place in the women’s competition where their players edged Latvia in the last tie of the tournament to get a more favourable seeding for the next round which is due to follow later this summer.
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The intensive programme in Beach Volleyball that the Israel Sports Organisation has introduced for the last couple of years is starting to pay dividends, according to their team coach, Shaked Chaimy. “Nothing is achieved in sports without good organisation and a lot of hard work, and we are delighted to have finally something to show for all our efforts, both inside and outside the court.”
Israel won both of their matches against Finland. Sean Faiga and Ariel Hilman beat Timo Haavisto and partner Toni Vahela 2-0 (21-14, 21-17). “It wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, we had to be focussed because we knew that any lapse of concentration would cost us heavily,” Faiga said at the end of a very tiring but happy weekend for his country.
The other game between Israel and Finland, played simultaneously at court 2, also decided in two sets, was an equally close affair, as Alon Sanderovich and Amiram Netanel Ohana won against Pekka Piippo and Jyrki Nurminen by 23-21, 21-13.
It was not all gloom and doom for Finland today, as the Nyström twins, Emilia and Erika, overcame the disappointment of yesterday’s result by winning their game against Alise Lece and Marta Ozolina from Latvia (21-19, 21-18), thereby helping their country claim second place in Pool G.
“We knew how to win the crucial points at the end of both sets, and I think this was the difference between the two teams. Our opponents served really well, and this was a bit of a problem for us, but all is good in the end,” they said and added: “Riikka (Lehtonen) and Taru (Lahti) were also playing at the same time and we did not know their result until the end, so it’s a memorable day for both of us, Limassol is a lucky place for us.”
The match in the centre court was equally exciting. Lehtonen and Lahti were the ones who had the last laugh, with 2009 European champion Inese Jursone and young partner Tina Graudina proving worthy opponents throughout the match (22-20, 21-18).
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