Brazil's defending champions Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos won again on Monday in a beach volleyball preliminary match.

They beat Renato Gomes and Jorge Terceiro of Georgia 21-19 and 21-17.

With the win, the Brazilians earned a berth in top 16.

"Every team in our pool is hard to play against. We must always concentrate on our performance," said Rego after the match.

The rivals, a Georgian pair of Brazilian origin, also made problems to the defending champions in the match.

"And we must also adapt us to different weather conditions. Sometimes it's hot and at other times it rains," he said.

Monday's match was held in rain.

Brazilian beach volleyballers say they are in a better condition in hot weather, saying they are used to play in heat.

In their first preliminary, the defending champions breezed past Angolans Morais Abreu and Emanuel Fernandes on Aug. 9.

Rego said he was satisfied with the Chinese crowd, who cheered for local and foreign players as well.

"They inject a lot of energy into the games," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2008)