VOLLEYBALL – Bahrain marched through last night to the semi-finals of the first WAVA Men’s Volleyball Championship, currently being hosted by the kingdom.
The senior men’s national team outclassed their counterparts from Kuwait 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-20) at Isa Bin Rashid Volleyball Arena yesterday to maintain their winning ways in the prestigious regional competition.
It was the fourth successive straight-sets triumph for the hosts, who took all three of their preliminary round contests with 3-0 score lines leading up to last night’s result.
The Bahrainis are now set to face off with Saudi Arabia in the last four after the Saudis swept past Jordan yesterday, also in three sets. The other semis clash will be between Qatar and Oman, who both won their quarter-final matches unscathed. The Qataris outplayed Lebanon while the Omanis ousted the UAE.
The pair of final four fixtures are scheduled to take place tomorrow at the same venue. They will set the stage for the gold and bronze medal games, to be held on Saturday. Classification ties are also set to be played today and tomorrow.
All are welcome to attend. Entry is free.
Attending Bahrain’s match last night was Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa along with other BVA and West Asia Volleyball Association (WAVA) officials.
The Bahrainis got off to a hot start and a Hasan Al Warqaa spike gave them a 10-6 lead. Kuwait then misfired to give the home team a 20-12 cushion, and then back-to-back Mohammed Jassim points from a block and a smash sealed the first set for Bahrain.
In the second, the Kuwaitis raised their play but Mohammed Yaqoob helped the nationals stay in front with an attack that made it 13-10. Their opponents stayed within striking distance, getting to within a point multiple times, but the Bahrainis pulled away late on thanks to a Yaqoob block and a Mahmoud Abdulwahed ace for a 23-18 advantage. Mahmood Alafyah then had a clever touch at the net for set point, and later a block-out on a powerful Ali Ebrahim smash made it two-sets-to-none.
The nationals carried over their strong play into the third frame when Kuwait tried to stay in the fight. A Yaqoob ace gave Bahrain a 12-8 edge and then the superstar spiker later had a timely point after their lead was reduced to 19-20.
A Naser Anan block then gave the Bahrainis some breathing room at 22-19, and then an Ebrahim attack earned them match point. They were eventually gifted the decisive ball on a Kuwait service error, ending the match.
Ebrahim finished as Bahrain’s top scorer with 14 points, while Yaqoob chipped in with 11 and Anan eight. Al Warqaa contributed seven points and Jassim scored five.
Rashed Anbar had a game-high 19 in the losing effort for Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Saudi secured their semis berth with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 28-26) win against Jordan. They were led by Mohamed Adel, who scored 15 points.
Qatar, who like Bahrain are undefeated, overpowered Lebanon 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-13) with Abdulrahman Bakry scoring 12 points.
Oman triumphed 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16) against the UAE, spearheaded by Mahmood Al Saadi’s 14 markers.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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