Tehran, Iran, May 19, 2022 – Suntory Sunbirds on Thursday cruised past Shahdab Yazd in thrilling four-setter to set up a rematch with hosts Peykan in the final showdown of the 2022 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship at Azadi Hall.
With the dramatic 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21) win against Iran League winners Shahdab Yazd on Thursday, the Japan’s V League champions Suntory Sunbird now make a step closer to winning the Japan’s unprecedented title in the Asia’s topflight men’s club competition.
In their highly-anticipated clash against Shahdab Yazd, Dmitriy Muserskiy scored a match-high 29 points for Suntory Sunbirds including 27 attacks from 47 attempts, while Amin Esmaeilnezhad contributed 17 points for the losing team.
Suntory Sunbirds advanced to the semifinals of the championship following their second-placed finish in Pool A. With only top two teams from each pool advancing to the cross semifinals, Suntory Sunbirds challenged Pool B winners Shahdab Yazd in the Thursday’s semifinals.
Suntory Sunbirds made a strong start and put up a good fight to win the first set 25-22. The second set was incredibly close with neither side able to break clear from the beginning, but it was the Japanese who left the Iranian club behind and led 23-21. From then, the on-going battle turned out to be a very tight contest. Suntory Sunbirds performed superbly to clinch the hotly-contested set 25-22.
The third set was the similar script when both sides tried their best to topple each other. As Dmitriy Muserskiy and Masahiro Yanagida tore the Iranian defence into pieces with their mighty attacks, Shahdab Yazd dropped their rhythm and started to come up with poor reception. Suntory Sunbirds remained in irresistible form to take three points ahead at 20-17. Despite a serious threat from Shahdab Yazd, the Japanese still had enough to hold the rivals off before winning 25-20.
The fourth set also went the Japanese way. As Suntory Sunbirds surged ahead with a six-points advantage at 16-10, the Iranians tried to claw their way back into the game, but the Japanese pulled clear to take the set 25-21.
With the win, Suntory Sunbirds now go up against 2011 Asian Club winners Peykan, the team they had already lost 1-3 in the preliminary Pool B match earlier, in a final clash of the Titans on Friday, the last day of the one-week competition
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