DAY 2 WRAP-UP
Manama, Bahrain, May 15, 2023 – Four teams have secured their places in the top eight while the remaining four will have to fight on on the final day of the preliminary round action on Tuesday in the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship in Bahrain.
Among those who have already punched their tickets to the quarterfinal pools are South Korea’s Korean Air Jumbos Pro-Volleyball Club, Suntory Sunbirds from Japan, Shahdab Yazd of Iran and Police Sporting Club of Qatar, three of them made it two in a row in their pool encounters.
Four others kept their hopes of advancing alive after claiming their first wins. They include Thailand’s Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force, South Gas Sports Club from Iraq, Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi of Indonesia and Atyrau VC of Kazakhstan.
Bahrain’s Al-Ahli also still have a chance of going through despite losing to their Korean counterparts in an exciting clash that brought Monday night’s play to a close.
The full roster of eight that will be marching forward and continuing their title bids will be determined Tuesday night, as the preliminaries will wrap up at Isa Bin Rashed Hall.
Korean Air Jumbos showed their class in their Pool A clash with home team Al-Ahli, staving off a late charge by the Bahrainis to triumph 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-22). Jung Jiseok had a fine showing with 17 points as the Koreans’ leading scorer, while Im Donghyeok added 14.
Cuban Yosvany Hernandez was Al-Ahli’s only player who scored double figures with 11, while Nasser Anan had nine and Brazilian Gabriel Candido finished with eight points.
“It was a really difficult game,” said Jiseok. “We were worried about Bahrain, but in the end our performance was as we had planned. The Bahrain team almost showed their colours, but we blocked them better and we were able to get this win”.
“We came here to be champions. We know it’s not going to be easy but we have to learn game by game, and if we play how we have to, then the rest will come to us.”
Al-Ahli’s Italian setter Davide Saitta admitted that they were outplayed, but added that they remain focused on winning their final game Tuesday in the hopes of moving forward in the competition.
“We faced a really good team,” said Saitta. “We lost some occasions in the second set when we were still fighting point for point, but could not take the advantage. In the third set, we came back, but they were stronger than us.
“There is no time to be sad [about the loss]. Tomorrow, we will do the same routine of yesterday and today, and try to be more prepared and try to win.”
Japan’s Suntory Sunbirds opted not to field a full-strength squad against Bayankhongor Crownd Geo VC of Mongolia in Pool C but still comfortably disposed of their opponents 3-1 (25-11, 25-18, 17-25, 25-19).
Cuban ace Alain Junior de Armas had a game-high 23 points, while teammates Shikun Peng and Kenshin Kuwada added 10 points apiece as the Japanese claimed their second successive win. Nyamsukh Sukhee had 12 points to pace Bayankhongor, which suffered back-to-back losses.
Sunbirds wing spiker Kenya Fujinaka said after the match: “The last set was really good for us today; it was a good experience to continue our performance to tomorrow’s game [against Yemen’s Khaypil Sports Club].
“It is not our goal just to reach the second phase. We have a different goal, so tomorrow’s game is very important for us to win as we go to the next round.”
Iranian volleyball giants Shahdab Yazd also maintained their undefeated record after two outings, sweeping past winless Kam Air VC of Afghanistan 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-18) in Pool B.
Shahdab enjoyed a balanced attack, with Mohammad Sadeghi scoring 14 points to lead the way. Younes Niazghelich added 13, Saeed Javaheri Tavana had 12 and Mehrdad Babaei finished with 11 markers.
Qatar’s Police eased past Kuwait SC 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-14) in a Pool D fixture. Croatian Petar Dirlic was their top scorer with 13 points, while Turkish professional Efe Bayram added 10 markers. For the Kuwaitis, Mohammed Salem Alsuwaid scored eight points in the team’s loss.
In Pool C, Evandro Dias De Souza spearheaded Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force to a hard-earned victory against Khaypil, keeping their hopes alive of making it to the top eight. The Thais shrugged off a narrow first-set setback to defeat their opponents 3-1 (24-26, 25-17, 25-13, 25-21).
De Souza, from Brazil, scored a game-high 32 points, while compatriot Luiz Ferreira Perotto added 14 and Chaiwat Thungkham scored 13. For Khaypil, Essa Elhossiny scored 20 points while Gamal Khairalah chipped in with 14.
De Souza commented: “I think it was a great game. In the first set, we played to win, but we gave them a chance at the last moment and we lost. However, we kept our mind strong and we were able to get the win.
“This was very crucial for us so we really needed to win it to have a chance to go to the quarterfinals. For us, it was like a final. We proved again that we are in good shape. We will do our best tomorrow to win once more.”
South Gas Sports Club bounced back from an opening day loss with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-14) sweep of Taichung Bank from Chinese Taipei in Pool B. Bulgarian Todor Skrimov and Serbian Nikola Meljanac combined for 31 points, with Skrimov registering 16 markers.
Islam Sachit Challab Matraw added 11 for the triumphant Iraqis, who must now win their final fixture to qualify for the best eight. For Taichung, Chang Yu-Sheng put in a valiant individual effort of 16 points.
Claiming their first victory in Pool A were Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi of Indonesia, which breezed past Canberra Heat from Australia 3-0 (25-9, 25-23, 25-15). Farhan Halim had 14 points as their leading scorer while Hendra Kurniawan added 13. Matthew Aubrey had 16 points for the Aussies as he almost helped them steal away the second set.
Finally on Monday, Kazakh outfit Atyrau cruised past Aspiring Volleyball Team of Hong Kong, China 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-11) in Pool D to stay in the mix for the quarters pools. Slovakian Boris Kempa scored 13 points in the win, while Bekarys Gabituly and Vitaliy Vorivodin each contributed 12 in the team’s win. Hin Shing Tang was the top player for Aspiring with just six points.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Hall 1
11:30 – Kam Air VC (Afghanistan) v South Gas Sports Club (Iraq)
14:00 – Bayankhongor Crownd Geo VC (Mongolia) v Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force (Thailand)
16:30 – Police Sports Team (Qatar) v Aspiring Volleyball Team (Hong Kong)
19:00 – Al Ahli (Bahrain) v Canberra Heat (Australia)
Hall 2
11:30 – Suntory Sunbirds (Japan) v Khaypil Sports Club (Yemen)
14:00 – Shahdab Yazd (Iran) v Taichung Bank (Chinese Taipei)
16:30 – Korean Air Jumbos Pro-Volleyball Club (South Korea) v Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia)
19:00 – Kuwait Sporting Club (Kuwait) vs Atyrau VC (Kazakhstan)
MATCH RESULTS
TEAM RANKINGS
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