VOLLEYBALL – Bahrain’s Al Ahli secured their second successive victory yesterday in the preliminary round of the fourth Wava Men’s Clubs Volleyball Championship, which is currently being played in Kuwait City.
Ahli maintained their pristine record in the West Asia Volleyball Association (Wava) tournament – while yet conceding a set – with a resounding 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21) sweep of Club Jeunesse Sportif (CJS) Batroun from Lebanon.
The result followed their opening three-set victory against Al Wakrah SC from Qatar earlier this week as they took one step forward to securing their place in the elite eight as one of the top contenders from Group B.
Following a see-saw start to the contest, Ahli took control of the opening set following a powerful Sayed Mohammed Alabbar spike that broke an 18-all deadlock and sparked a decisive 7-1 rally, which earned them the 1-0 advantage.
Mahmood Abdulhussain supplied the clinching point in attack.
The Bahrainis continued their strong play in the second frame, where Mohammed Anan hit a smash that put them up 20-17.
Alabbar later gave them their two-set advantage.
With their opponents’ backs against the wall, Ahli went for the kill and an Anan attack gave them a commanding 12-5 cushion.
They then did well to hold on to their advantage until the end after CJS Batroun battled back to within two points.
Alabbar scored the winning point with a clever ball that was not returned.
Ahli, who were the bronze medallists from the previous edition of the tournament hosted last year by the kingdom, are back in action tomorrow against hosts Kuwait SC at 6pm, Bahrain time.
Ahli, coached by Renato Castro from Brazil, are one of two Bahraini teams in this year’s competition, which features 11 competing clubs in all.
Dar Kulaib are the other, and they are competing in Group C of the preliminaries, where they won their first game.
Dar Kulaib are set to take to the playing court today against Burgan SC from Kuwait at 4pm, also Bahrain time.
Ahli and Dar Kulaib are vying not only for the Wava title, but also for a berth in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Men’s Champions League 2026 in Pontianak, Indonesia, from May 13 to 17.
Following a single round-robin, the top two teams from each of the three preliminary round pools move on to the knockout quarters along with the two best third-placed sides.
The last eight will be held on Tuesday next week.
The semis are then scheduled for Thursday, which will then set the stage for the gold and bronze medal contests on the championship’s concluding day on Saturday.
Classification matches to determine the rest of the final rankings will also be held over the concluding week from Wednesday to Friday.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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