Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2016 - Italy's #10 seed Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai battle Mexico's #15 seed, Lombardo Ontiveros/Juan Virgen as the men get started on day two. The Italians are hoping to improve on their 5th-place finish in London while the Mexican's are making their Olympic debut.
Head to Head
Lupo/Nicolai lead the series 3-1 on the FIVB World Tour with Lombardo Ontiveros/Virgen winning the last meeting in pool play at the Moscow Grand Slam in May. Three of the four matches have required a third set with the Moscow match going into overtime in the third for a 17-21, 21-19, 23-21 victory in 53 minutes for the Mexicans. The only straight-set match required overtime in both sets with the Italians winning 22-20 and 24-22 in 41 minutes in the round of 16 at the Vitória Open in March.
Historically the #15 seed has pulled the upset four out of the five times over the #10 seed in the Olympic Games, winning two out of the three in pool play at the last three Olympic Games. The two seeds met two times in Sydney (2000) with Germany's Jorg Ahmann/Axel Hager winning both match-ups on their way to a bronze medal. The Germans defeated Spain's Javier Bosma/Fabio Diez 15-13 in round 1 and 16-14 in the quarterfinals.
Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai, Italy, Seed #10, Pool C, Qualified 10th with 5,220 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Daniele: May 6, 1991 (25y3m0d), 195 cm (6'5"), 80 kg (178 lbs.), Hometown Rome, 62nd FIVB World Tour event, three gold medals, $312,487 career winnings (ranks 63rd)
• Paolo: August 6, 1988 (28y0m0d), 203 cm (6'8"), 91 kg (202 lbs.), Hometown Ortona, 82nd FIVB World Tour event, three gold medals, $358,412 career winnings (ranks 55th)
• Daniele and Paolo have been playing together since 2011. They are playing in their 58th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 46th), three gold medals, $620,175 career winnings (ranks 25th).
• Daniele has played in 15 FIVB World Tour final fours with three gold, five silver, five bronze medals and two 4th place finishes.
• Paolo has played in 15 FIVB World Tour final fours with three gold, five silver, five bronze medals and two 4th place finishes.
• Daniele and Paolo have played in four Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Bronze Sochi Open 2015, Silver Vitória Open 2016, Silver Fuzhou Open 2016, Gold Sochi Open 2016).
• Daniele and Paolo finished 5th in the Olympic Games in 2012 (London).
• Daniele and Paolo finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Daniele finished 33rd in the FIVB World Championships with Andrea Tomatis in 2011 (Rome).
• Paolo finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2009 (Stavanger) and 9th in 2011 (Rome), both with Matteo Martino.
• Daniele and Paolo are currently ranked 22nd in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 3,120 points and 20th in winnings with $70,575.
• Daniele and Paolo have a career 200-100 (66.7%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 63-36 (63.6%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Daniele and Paolo won the gold medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2014 (Cagliari, Italy) and 2016 (Biel, Switzerland).
• Paolo won the silver medal at the U19 World Championships with Francesco Giontella in 2006 (Bermuda, Bermuda).
• Paolo won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships in 2007 (Modena, Italy) and 2008 (Brighton, England), both with Francesco Giontella.
• Paolo Nicolai was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2012 and Best Offensive Player in 2014.
Lombardo Ontiveros/Juan Virgen, Mexico, Seed #15, Pool C, Qualified 17th with 4,670 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Lombardo: November 9, 1983 (32y8m28d), 185 cm (6'1"), 82 kg (182 lbs.), Hometown Escuinapa, Sinaloa, 45th FIVB World Tour event, $101,625 career winnings
• Juan: April 9, 1987 (29y3m28d), 197 cm (6'6"), 94 kg (209 lbs.), Hometown Santiago Ixcuintla, 77th FIVB World Tour event, $114,025 career winnings
• Lombardo and Juan have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 35th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, $195,750 career winnings (ranks 98th). They have won all four men's FIVB World Tour medals for Mexico.
• Lombardo has played in four FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal and three bronze medals.
• Juan has played in four FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal and three bronze medals.
• Lombardo and Juan have played in three Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Silver Antalya Open 2015-16, Bronze Xiamen Open 2016, Bronze Fortaleza Open 2016).
• Lombardo and Juan finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 9th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Lombardo and Juan are currently ranked 6th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,430 points and 16th in winnings with $91,125.
• Lombardo and Juan have a career 92-64 (59.0%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 75-44 (63.0%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Lombardo and Juan won the gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games (Toronto, Canada).
• Lomarbo and Juan won the bronze medal at the NORCECA Continental Championships in 2015 (Turtle Beach, Trinidad and Tobago).
• Lomarbo and Juan won 11 gold, one silver, and two bronze medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour from 2012-15.
• Lombardo and Ulises Ontiveros won one gold, one silver, and three bronze medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour from 2010-11.
• Juan and Aldo Miramontes won 14 gold medal and five silver medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour from 2008-12.
• Juan ranks 1st all-time in NORCECA Continental Tour gold medals with 25 and Lombardo ranks fourth with 12. Cuba's Sergio Gonzalez has 15 and Aldo Miramontes has 14.
• Lombardo was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2015.