17/08/2020 14:29
Sister and brother crowned Portuguese Beach Volleyball champions on the same day
News from the National Federations
Porto, Portugal, August 17, 2020. Juliana Antunes/Raquel Lacerda and Ivo Casas/Tiago Violas are the newly crowned Portuguese Beach Volleyball champions after claiming top honours from the Lidl Championship finals held at the FPV Beach Volleyball High Performance Centre in Cortegaça, Ovar.
For Juliana Antunes, this triumph had a special, double meaning, since with nine titles to her name, she has now set an all-time record in Portuguese Beach Volleyball history. Moreover, she could share this joy together with her brother, Ivo Casas, who secured the men’s title.
In the women’s final, Juliana Antunes and Raquel Lacerda defeated Mariana Maia/Gabriela Coelho in straight sets (21-17, 21-15). Apart from retaining the crown she had seized last year, Juliana is now the most successful player in the history of the competition: “I am happy, but it is not the titles that motivate me, it is all the work I do in Beach Volleyball. This ninth title turns out to be the result of everything I have done so far. Being a national champion is fantastic, especially for everything that has happened in this difficult period of pandemic. It is a reward for the work Tânia [Oliveira] and I did during the quarantine. I want to say that this title has a little piece that is hers. I also thank Raquel for having believed in this dream.”
Juliana had previously won the title with Francisca Esteves in 2008, Ana Freches (in 2010, 2011 and 2013) and with Oliveira (in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019).
Matilde Calado/Mafalda Porto finished the tournament in third place after edging 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-11) another young and equally promising team supported by the Portuguese Volleyball Federation (FPV), Beatriz Pinheiro and Inês Castro.
In the men’s event, Ivo Casas and Tiago Violas, players of SL Benfica in indoor Volleyball, claimed their first title by winning 2-0 (21-15, 21-16) against a team that many predict will have a good career in the sport, Hugo Campos and João Nuno Pedrosa.
“It is a great feeling to win this title,” Casas said. “Any title is always a reason to celebrate and this one even more because I have achieved it with Tiago, who is a long-time friend. It rewards our work - and those who have believed in us as well. A word of appreciation for the young and promising team that we faced in the final. They fought well and they have a bright future ahead.”
Tiago Violas and Ivo Casas stand on top of the podium at the Portuguese Beach Volleyball national championships
Upon winning his first title in Cortegaça, Tiago Violas, stressed, “It is a feeling of great pride. I am happy for the title, which rewards the work we have done and which has a special flavour for having been won alongside Ivo, who is like a brother to me and an inspiration for the way he plays and delivers the game.”
In the ‘small final’, Francisco Pombeiro and Diego Raposo defeated 2-0 (21-16, 21-9) Guilherme Maia (son of multiple Olympian Miguel Maia) and Filipe Leite, securing the third step of the podium for the fourth time in the last five domestic tournaments.
Salvador Malheiro, Mayor of the Ovar Municipality and Vicente Araújo, President of the Portuguese Volleyball Federation, awarded the top three teams of the competition.
The Final of the National Beach Volleyball Championship, organised by the Portuguese Volleyball Federation (FPV) in collaboration with the company Lidl Portugal, took place without any audience, in strict compliance with the safety rules of the General Directorate of Health (DGS). However, live streaming of the matches was available on Volei TV (YouTube) and on A Bola TV (for the finals only).
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