Ninh Binh, Vietnam, June 28, 2017 – Qatar’s Al Arabi Sports Club proved too strong for Canberra Heat to storm past the unfancied Australians in comfortable straight sets 25-15, 25-18, 25-21 to taste their first victory at the SMM 2017 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Ninh Binh Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Al Arabi Sports Club, silver medallists at the previous episode in Myanmar last year, showed complete dominance to win the first two sets 25-15, 25-18. The Aussies tried hard to stage a comeback attempt in the third set, but their determination was not fruitful as they found their opponents’ tactics and aggressive attacks too difficult to handle.
Germany-import Gyorgy Grozer, who played in Shanghai Golden Age Club last season, emerged as the top scorer for Al Arabi as he collected 12 points consisting of 10 kills, one block and one serve. Aubrey Matthew led Canberra Heat with 12 points.
Al Arabi Sports Club’s head coach Maaouia Lajnef expressed his satisfaction over the team performance after the match, “Today we played well. I think we did a good job. I am very happy for my team’s victory. Australia are not the best team. They tried to play but we put pressure on them and we didn’t allow them to play their game.
“We prepared about eight weeks for this championship, but some players who are in the national team just joined our training in preparation for this tournament. Actually, we started serious training three weeks ahead of this event.
“We next play Hong Kong’s Yan Chai. We have not seen them play yet, so I have to study their tactics in the video. We will not underestimate them,” he added.
Al Arabi will take on Yan Chai, with Canberra Heat facing Altay VC from Kazakhstan in their preliminary second match in Pool C on Thursday.
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