Bellos claim fifth at the Beach Pro Tour challenge in Haikou, China

Now ranked in the top 40 and their success a fortnight ago the brothers were straight into the main draw where they were placed against Samoilovs and Samoilovs M of Latvia, Brewster and Friend from the USA and the local Chinese pairing of Wu Jiaxin and HA Likejiang. 

Their first opposition would be the Latvians with an early start aiming to set the tempo of the weekend. 

And they were able to do just that. They took the first set 21-16 and looked as if they were set to carry on where they left off in India. However, the Latvians hadn’t flown out to China just to lose their first game 2-0. 

They struck back in a closer set finishing 21-18 which set up a final set decider. 

Despite this set back the Bello’s showed some grit and took the third set 15-10. The Bello’s were able to overpower the Baltic team with 5 blocks and forced more errors with 12 from the pair of Samoilovs and Samoilovs M. 

Next up were the American pair of Brewster and Friend who had taken their first match against China 2-1. With both teams having played two three-setters it would be about who would be able to keep switched on and make fewer errors. 

It was the British pair who were able to dominate the game with the Americans having 13 errors. Javier and Joaquin showed their fitness and ability despite playing some very incense games only two weeks ago. 

The first set finished 21-16 and then backed by a strong second set which the Bellos took 25-19. 

This gave them automatic qualification to the round of 16 meaning they wouldn’t have to play a third match against China. 

After a well-earned rest for the pair, they were matched up against the Swiss pairing of Krattigerand and Breer. The Swiss had made it through the qualification stages and a tough pool E to make it to the round of 16. 

The Brothers knew they had their work cut out and wanted to try and make it to the quarterfinals. 

The Swiss weren’t able to take the first set and England claimed it 21-18. But, the Swiss were able to replicate this scoreline in their favour. This 18-21 set, resulted in a dramatic third set! 

The Swiss pairing (ranked 41st in the world) wanted to maintain this momentum and try and snatch the opportunity of back-to-back quarterfinals from the Bellos. 

The final set started fast eventually resulting in a tie-break point. This is where the Bellos thrive. Having the ability to dig in deep and clutch a very close match 19-17.

Evans and Budinger of the United States were the only thing that stood between the brothers and another semi-final. 

The game again was intense with the Americans able to claim the first set 21-19. But, the Bellos were able to show their ability and strength leveling the game 1-1 with the second set ending 21-18. 

However, the Americans were just able to snatch the quarterfinal match with the third set ending 15-12. 

Despite this loss, the Bellos finished the tournament 5th maintaining their momentum with one competition left this year which takes place in Nuvali, Phillapeens at the end of November. 

Photo credit: Volleyballworld