Saturday, April 20, 2019

Four countries going for gold in doubles at 2019 Pan American Championships

It’ll be #1 versus #2 in Women’s Doubles in the final of the 2019 Pan American Championships in Barranquilla, Colombia, as Mexicans Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas - the #1 seeds - will take on Colombians Cristina Amaya and Adriana Riveros, the 2nd seeds, in the final. In the semi-finals, Longoria and Salas beat Bolivians Valeria Centellas and Yazmine Sabja, 15-2, 15-6, while Amaya and Riveros defeated the 11th seeded Canadian team of Danielle Drury and Jennifer Saunders, 13-15, 15-3, 11-8.

The Mexico-Bolivia semi-final was a battle between three time International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Women's Doubles World Champions in Mexico, and the current IRF World Champions in Bolivia. But it wasn't much a match, as Mexico played very well. The Bolivians had used a front back formation with their court positioning, including at last year's World Championships, but it wasn't effective in game one against Mexico, so Bolivia changed to a side to side formation. That worked slightly better, but Mexico was on a roll by that point.

The Men’s Doubles final will be 4th seeds Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso of Bolivia versus 7th seeds Coby Iwaasa and Samuel Murray of Canada, as both sides came back from a game down in their respective semi-final matches to upset higher seeded teams. The Bolivians took out the top seeded Mexican team of Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya, 14-15, 15-11, 11-7, and the Canadians defeated the 3rd seeded team of Andres Acuña and Felipe Camacho from Costa Rica, 8-15, 15-1, 11-3.

The final will be a replay of a group stage match that was decided by an 11-10 tie-breaker in Bolivia’s favour, so it should be a great final.

The IRF will be live streaming matches from Barranquilla, look for the action via the IRF Website or the IRF Facebook page or the IRF YouTube channel.

XXXII Pan American Racquetball Championships
Barranquilla, Colombia - April 12-20, 2019


Women's Doubles - Semi-finals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas (Mexico) d. 4) Valeria Centellas & Yazmine Sabja (Bolivia), 15-2, 15-6
2) Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros (Colombia) d. 11) Danielle Drury & Jennifer Saunders (Canada), 13-15, 15-3, 11-8

Women's Doubles - Final - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas (Mexico) v. 2) Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros (Colombia) - 2 PM

Men's Doubles - Semi-finals - Friday

4) Roland Keller & Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. 1) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico), 14-15, 15-11, 11-7
7) Coby Iwaasa & Samuel Murray (Canada) d. 3) Andres Acuña & Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica), 8-15, 15-1, 11-3

Men's Doubles - Final - Saturday

4) Roland Keller & Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 7) Coby Iwaasa & Samuel Murray (Canada) - 3:30 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

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