Wrap-Up Day 2
By Maryam Hessaby
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, October 2, 2021 – Supreme Chonburi and Altay captured two wins apiece in Pool B, with Zhetysu through to the Sunday’s Pool A face-off with Nakhon Ratchasima QminC VC after their 3-0 rout of Choco Mucho of the Philippines at the 2021 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at Terminal 21 Hall on Saturday.
In Pool B, Supreme Chonburi and Altay of Kazakhstan remained on course following their second win in the one-week-long championship. Embattled Supreme Chonburi shrugged off their below-par performance on the very first day of the competition when they struggled to beat the Iran’s Super League champions Saipa in dramatic four-setter to breeze past the Philippines’ Rebisco in comfortable straight sets 25-11, 25-16, 25-16 on Saturday.
Despite two wins in hand, Supreme, former consecutive two-time Asian Club winners and silver medallists at the previous edition in Tianjin, China in 2019, will face a daunting task on Sunday, the last day of the pool plays since the Thai side will go up against unbeaten Altay, the team which ended in similar fourth place at the last four editions (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019), but came much stronger this time with high hopes of capturing the maiden title.
With a lopsided win against Rebisco, Nataphon Srisamutnak, head coach of Supreme Chonburi, expressed his satisfaction, but admitted that the following match against Altay will be one of the most important to be reckoned with.
“I’m very happy that we claimed the second win today. I think my players have already adjusted themselves to conditions and their goal and they had a better teamwork in this match. They played smoother than our previous match. However, the Sunday’s match counts the most. It’s one of the most crucial matches for us since if we have to capture the top spot in Pool B, we have to beat them (Altay).”
Supreme, spearheaded by former Thailand national player and superstar Pleumjit Thinkaow and hard-attacking Wipawee Seethong, will play Altay on Sunday in their last preliminary Pool B match to determine the Pool winners.
Altay, fresh from 3-0 demolition of Rebisco in their first match on Friday, proved a cut above Saipa to tactically and technically overwhelm the Iranian side in straight sets 25-11, 25-20, 25-15.
“I am very pleased because we played much better, not because of the win. I hope we will play much better tomorrow against Supreme as they are a strong team. However, I think it’s not that easy. We have to play one hundred percent to win the match against them tomorrow,” Altay head coach Marko Grsic commented after the match.
At the end of Saturday’s encounters, Altay surged ahead Supreme to the top of Pool B. Both teams have similar six points from two straight wins, but Altay fared better as they have yet lost a single set and as a result, stay atop the Pool B standing.
Saipa and Rebisco suffered two successive losses in Pool B, but both teams have their sights set on claiming their first win in this tournament when they will fight it out for the third place in the group.
Meanwhile, Zhetysu, another team from Kazakhstan, which had won two silver medals in the 2010 and 2013 Asian Women’s Club Championship to their name, overcame a strong challenge from Choco Mucho to demolish the determined Philippine side in straight sets 25-22, 25-19, 25-15 in Pool A.
With only three teams contesting Pool A, Choco Mucho, which went down 0-3 to Nakhon Ratchasima QminC VC earlier on Friday, suffered two losses in a row and are assured of finishing third in the group. The Philippine team will have a rest day on Sunday.
“It was quite disappointing that we can play good touches in defense but cannot convert in offense. For now, we really have to work on the team’s cohesion and making their teamwork really come out in the game.” Choco Mucho head coach Odjie Mamon commented.
On Sunday, teams will contest their last matches in the pool round-robin preliminaries and will be classified according to performances in their pools. The quarterfinals will be held on Monday, with Pool A winners taking on Pool B fourth place and Pool A second finishers playing Pool B third place.
The four winners in the quarterfinals will then advance to the do-or-die semifinals, with the three losers relegated to classification round for 5th-7th places. However, with only three teams testing their mettle in this championship, Pool B winners will receive a bye in the Monday’s quarterfinals.
SATURDAYS RESULTS
Pool A
Zhetysu (Kazakhstan) b Choco Mucho (Philippines) 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-15)
Pool B
Supreme Chonburi (Thailand) b Rebisco (Philippines) 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-16)
Altay (Kazakhstan) b Saipa (Iran) 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-15)
STANDING AFTER TWO DAYS
MATCH SCHEDULE
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