VOLLEYBALL – Japan and Pakistan secured their semi-final berths yesterday in the 15th Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championship, currently being hosted by Bahrain.
The Japanese and Pakistanis were both triumphant in their Pool F games at Isa Sports City in Riffa. Three-time defending champions Japan outplayed South Korea while Pakistan battled past Chinese Taipei.
The other two places in the last four will be decided today following the completion of play in the tournament’s Elite Eight.
China ousted hosts Bahrain and Iran cruised past Thailand in Pool G, with both winners inching closer to claiming their places in the last four.
Each of the tournament’s semis participants will also qualify for the FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship, set to take place next year. The last four will take place tomorrow along with the start of the final classification round. That will set the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on Sunday, when the final ranking will also be determined.
Japan punched their semi-final tickets with their 3-1 (28-30, 25-21, 25-17, 25-18) win over South Korea. The result earned the Japanese six points in this round – three of which they carried over from the preliminaries.
Karen Masajedi had a sensational performance with 31 points, while Rei Iwata added 18 and Yuki Kashiwazaki had 12. For the South Koreans, Eunchan Song scored 19, while Seungil Lee chipped in with 10 points in the loss.
Japan face Pakistan today for Pool F supremacy. South Korea and Chinese Taipei, who are out of further title contention and will compete in the fifth-to-eighth classification bracket, tussle in the other group contest.
The Pakistanis overcame a mid-game collapse yesterday to defeat Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 25-23). After taking the first set, the Pakistanis went ahead 24-16 in the second, but in a stunning turn of events, Chinese Taipei strung together the next 10 points, sealing their comeback and drawing level.
But Chinese Taipei could not build on their momentum and Pakistan recovered right away. They took the third set and did enough in the fourth to seal the contest.
Muhammad Yahya put in a class performance with 29 points to spearhead the victors, while Muhtad Ali Shah added 15 in their triumph. Hu Jun-Xiang was Chinese Taipei’s leading man with 15, while Chiang contributed 10.
Japan tops Pool F with six points, followed by Pakistan with five, South Korea with one, and Chinese Taipei with zero.
In Pool E, China moved within reach of the last four with their victory against Bahrain. They had a dominant start in the first set, where they held the home team to just single digits. The Bahrainis showed heart and didn’t go down without a fight, but it would not be enough in the end. The Chinese were firing on all cylinders and they closed the match out with a 3-0 (25-8, 25-22, 25-20) score line.
Yu Xiang had 14 points to lead the way while Li Xuyang chipped in with 11. Hasan Ebrahim had eight for Bahrain and Jassim Madan finished with seven.
Iran also took one step forward to the semis with a resounding 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-20) victory over Thailand.
The Iranians were tested in the second set and the Thais managed to forge a 22-all tie, but a service error by Krittin Damji gifted the Iranians the go-ahead point, and they took advantage. They then went for the kill in the third frame to secure the three-set sweep.
Noureyni Amir Naderi was Iran’s top scorer with 21 points, while Mohammadnima Bateni added 13. Sorasak Phunsanong led the Thais with nine points.
With those results, China improved to five points, followed by Iran with four points, Thailand two, and Bahrain one. China and Thailand lock horns today while Iran take on Bahrain. These games will determine the last two semi-finalists.
In the consolation groups, Australia and the Philippines were victorious yesterday in Pool G. Australia beat Lebanon 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-21), led by Sionetupou Veamatahau’s 15 points. The Filipinos were 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 28-26, 26-24) winners over Hong Kong, with Luke Anton Carl Macatangay posting 20 points.
Both Australia and the Philippines secured their places in the ninth-to-12th bracket for their final classification in the tournament.
In Pool H, India and Kazakhstan were triumphant yesterday. India eased past Saudi Arabia 3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-18) while Kazakhstan defeated Kuwait 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-23).
Harnoor Singh had an impressive 20 points to pace India while Goma Dudi contributed 11. Sohil Khan posted eight points for the Saudis in defeat.
The Kazakhs were led by Vladislav Mastikhin’s 14 points, while Rustam Bugayev added nine for their team. Naser Alsane and Abdulla Alali had 11 points each for the Kuwaitis.
India and Kazakhstan also made it through to the ninth-through-12th bracket, as they improved to six points apiece in their group. Saudi and Kuwait stayed on zero points each with just one game remaining in this stage.
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