Rio de Janeiro, August 13, 2016 - 2015 World Champions, Brazil's Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt who finished in 2nd place in pool A clash against pool F winner, Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera of Spain in a round of 16 match, their third meeting in FIVB World Tour competition. The Brazilians have won both meetings, but they haven't played since August, 2015. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals, and the loser will be eliminated with a 9th-place finish.
Head to Head
Alison/Bruno have won both meetings between the two teams on the FIVB World Tour
• Cerutti/Oscar Schmidt won 25-23 and 21-19 in 45 minutes, Olsztyn Poland Grand Slam, Round of 16, 08/29/2015
• Cerutti/Oscar Schmidt won 21-10 and 21-14 in 34 minutes, Berlin Grand Slam, Pool Play, 06/20/2014
Historically the #1 Seed has won the only match against the #7 Seed in the Olympic Games.
• Julien Prosser/Lee Zahner (1), Australia def. Rob Heidger/Kevin Wong (7), United States, 15-11 in 38 minutes, Contender's Bracket Round 3, Sydney (2000).
Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt, Brazil, Seed #1, Pool A, 2-1, 2nd Place, Qualified as 2015 World Championship Gold Medalists
• Alison: December 7, 1985 (30y7m30d), 203 cm (6'8"), 110 kg (244 lbs.), Hometown Espirito Santo, 100th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 73rd), 20 gold medals (ranked 6th), $1,025,450 career winnings (ranks 5th).
• Bruno: October 6, 1986 (29y10m0d), 185 cm (6'1"), 87 kg (193 lbs.), Hometown Brasilia, 99th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 75th), 11 gold medals (ranks 14th), $743,025 career winnings (ranks 12th).
• Alison and Bruno have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 30th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, nine gold medals (ranks 10th), $892,500 career winnings (ranked 7th).
• Alison has played in 54 FIVB World Tour final fours with 20 gold, 15 silver, 11 bronze medals and eight 4th place finishes.
• Bruno has played in 31 FIVB World Tour final fours with 11 gold, eight silver, four bronze medals and eight 4th place finishes.
• Alison and Bruno have played in 13 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Moscow Grand Slam 2015, Gold The Hague World Championships 2015, Gold Gstaad Major Series 2015, Gold Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, Gold Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, 4th Rio de Janeiro Open 2015, Gold Fort Lauderdale World Tour Finals 2015, Gold Vitória Open 2016, Silver Moscow Grand Slam 2016, 4th Hamburg Major Series 2016, Silver Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, Gold Porec Major Series 2016).
• Alison won the silver medal in the Olympic Games with Emanuel Rego in 2012 (London).
• Alison and Bruno won the gold medal in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Alison won the silver medal in the FIVB World Championships with Harley Marques in 2009 (Stavanger), won gold in 2011 (Rome) and finished 4th in 2013 (Stare Jablonki), both with Emanuel Rego .
• Bruno finished 17th in the FIVB World Championship with Joao Maciel in 2009 (Stavanger), 9th with Benjamin Insfran in 2011 (Rome), and 5th with Pedro Solberg in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Alison and Bruno are currently ranked 10th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,140 points and 2nd in winnings with $206,000.
• Alison and Bruno have a career 146-38 (79.3%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 99-20 (83.2%) record in 2015-16.
• Alison won the gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games with Emanuel Rego (Guadalajara, Mexico).
• Bruno won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships with Pedro Solberg in 2006 (Myslowice, Poland).
• Alison and Bruno were Team of the Year and Tour Points Champions in 2015.
• Alison was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2009, Best Blocker in 2011 and 2015, Best Hitter in 2011 and 2012, Best Offensive Player in 2011 and was Team of the Year and Tour Points Champion with Emanuel Rego in 2011.
• Bruno was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2010, Best Defensive Player in 2013, 2014, and 2015, Best Offensive Player in 2015, Most Outstanding in 2015, and Sportsperson in 2015.
• Alison is the heaviest men's player who has competed in any of the six Olympic Games at 110 kg (244 lbs.).
• Bruno is the nephew of Basketball Hall of Fame legend Oscar Schmidt
• Defeated Josh Binstock/Sam Schachter, Canada (24), 21-19 and 22-20 in 43 minutes
• Lost to Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst, Austria (13), 21-23, 21-16, and 13-15 in 57 minutes.
• Defeated Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri, Italy (12), 21-19 and 21-16 in 45 minutes.
Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera, Spain, Seed #7, Pool F, 2-1, 1st Place, Qualified 7th with 5,500 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Adrian: September 17, 1987 (28y10m20d), 193 cm (6'4"), 89 kg (198 lbs.), Hometown La Línea de la Concepción, 102nd FIVB World Tour event (ranks 67th), two gold medals, $510,625 career winnings (ranks 32nd)
• Pablo: June 29, 1982 (34y1m8d), 193 cm (6'4"), 88 kg (195 lbs.), Hometown Castellon de la Plana, 145th FIVB World Tour event, (ranks 16th), four gold medals, $661,775 career winnings (ranks 18th)
• Adrian and Pablo have been playing together since 2009. They are playing in their 82nd FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 18th), two gold medals, $949,700 career winnings (ranks 5th). They rank second behind Poland's Fijalek/Prudel (84) for playing the most events together of the men's teams competing at the Rio Olympics.
• Adrian has played in 21 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, five silver, eight bronze medals and six 4th place finishes.
• Pablo has played in 25 FIVB World Tour final fours with four gold, five silver, nine bronze medals and seven 4th place finishes.
• Adrian and Pablo have played in five Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Gold Moscow Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Gold Xiamen Open 2016, Bronze Fuzhou Open 2016, 4th Gstaad Major 2016).
• Adrian and Pablo finished 9th in the Olympic Games in 2012 (London).
• Pablo Herrera won the silver medal in the Olympic Games with Javier Bosma in 2004 (Athens) and finished 9th with Raul Mesa in 2008 (Beijing).
• Adrian and Pablo finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2009 (Stavanger), 5th in 2011 (Rome), 5th in 2013 (Stare Jablonki), and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Pablo finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Javier Bosma in 2003 (Rio de Janeiro) and 33rd in 2005 (Berlin) and 9th in 2007 (Gstaad), both with Raul Mesa.
• Adrian and Pablo are currently ranked 15th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 3,840 points and 12th in winnings with $106,375.
• Adrian and Pablo have a career 281-150 (65.2%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 72-39 (64.9%) record in 2015-16.
• Adrian and Pablo won the gold medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2013 (Klagenfurt, Austria) along with three other gold medals and two bronze medals on the CEV Continental Tour from 2009-14.
• Adrian won the silver medal at the U21 World Championships with Alejandro Fernandez in 2007 (Modena, Italy).
• Pablo won the gold medal at the CEV Continental Championships with Raul Mesa in 2005 (Moscow, Russia) along with one other gold medal on the CEV Continental Tour with Javier Bosma in 2004 and one silver medal with Raul Mesa in 2008.
• Pablo won the silver medal at the U21 World Championships in 2001 (Le Lavandou, France) and the gold medal in 2002 (Catania, Italy), both with Raul Mesa.
• Adrian was named the FIVB World Tour Top Rookie in 2008.
• Defeated Alexander Huber/Robin Seidl, Austria (18), 14-21, 21-17, 15-13 in 53 minutes
• Lost to Jefferson Santos Pereira/Cherif Younousse, Qatar (19), 21-13, 18-21, and 12-15 in 54 minutes.
• Defeated Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson, United States (6), 21-19, 16-21, and 15-7 in 53 minutes.