Sierra Leonean duo takes on Italian pair tomorrow
July 28, 2017 By Sahr Morris Jnr
SEEKING DIVINE INTERVENTION? Sierra Leonean duo; Abubakarr Kamara and Patrick Lombie
Sierra Leonean duo, Abubakarr Kamara and Patrick Lombie will start their 2017 FIVB World Championships campaign on Saturday, July 28, when they would take on Italian pair, Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo in a three sets battle on Side Court 2.
Kamara and Lombie who are making their first senior World Championships bow in Vienna, Austria, will also take the court on 31 July 2017 against Russian Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Artem Yarzutkin, while their final group K match will be against Australian duet; Damien Schumann and Christopher McHugh the following day.
According to the FIVB regulation, the top two pairs in each group will advance directly to the 32-team elimination bracket along with the four best third-place duos based on match points, set-point ratios and/or rally-point ratios, while a lucky loser round for the teams ranked fifth through 12th will be played with the four winners advancing to the elimination bracket.
For the Sierra Leonean players head coach, Soire Kamara, who also doubles as the beach volleyball director, the competition is very important for his team and Sierra Leone.
“This tournament means a lot for the players and our country. We are going there to do our best and I am sure the boys are up to the task,” Kamara said.
Sierra Leone road to the World Championship was secured in May this year after securing three wins out of four matches and advanced to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Maputo, Mozambique.
The pair defeated their South African opponent in a two straight sets 2-0 (21-19, 27-25) but went on to suffer in the hands of Tunisia 2 sets to 1 (13-21, 21-14 and 13-15). They bounced back in the all West African clash against Nigeria in a 21-8, 21-4 win before pushing aside East African challenger, Kenya in a 2 sets to 1 win (21-11, 20-22,15-10).