VOLLEYBALL – Defending champions Bahrain moved one victory away yesterday from successfully defending their title in the 24th Arab Men’s Volleyball Championship, currently being played in Amman, Jordan.
The kingdom’s senior men’s volleyball national team outclassed their counterparts from Algeria 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17) to claim their fourth straight victory while having yet to concede a single set in the six-nation tournament, which is being played in league format.
The Bahrainis thus rose to first place on the table with one game remaining – which will be this evening against Oman, who are also undefeated but have played two four-setters and one five-setter.
Tonight’s title-decider is scheduled for a 6pm start and it will be followed directly by the closing and awarding ceremonies.
In attendance during yesterday’s clash were Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) and Arab Volleyball Association (AVA) president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, along with BVA vice-president Habib Mohammed and BVA and AVA secretary general Feras Al Helwachi. Following the game, they joined the national team on the court in celebration and congratulated them on their victory.
Bahrain will be gunning today for back-to-back crowns and their fourth title overall in the history of the Arab championship, which is being organised and run this year by the AVA in cooperation with the Jordan Volleyball Federation.
The nationals won the competition’s last edition in 2024, which was hosted by the kingdom, adding to their crowns in the 2008 and 1992 events.
The Bahrainis’ triumph yesterday continued on their sensational run of form in the tournament. It followed their straight-set wins against Kuwait, hosts Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in their first three assignments.
Against Algeria yesterday, the kingdom’s representatives had a slow start, falling behind 1-5 before an Abdulla Mohammed Jaafar spike sparked a fine comeback. The Bhrainis strung together five unanswered points to take a slim 6-5 edge, and later in the set began to pull away from their rivals with four straight markers, capped by a powerful Mohammed Yaqoob smash that broke an 11-all deadlock and put the nationals ahead 15-11.
Ivan Joksimovic’s squad never looked back from there, and after closing out the opening frame, rode their momentum into the second, where they charged ahead to a 10-6 lead on a Mohammed Abdulla attack. The Bahrainis extended their advantage to double digits, 19-9, on a double block by Yaqoob and Hassan Haider, and eventually claimed a two-set cushion with an Ali Ebrahim foray at the net.
Bahrain began the third set where they left off and scored the first four points before going up 10-4 following a block out on a Yaqoob effort. They didn’t let up the rest of the way and veteran Mahmoud Abdulwahed scored with a clever ball to make it 20-13.
The Bahrainis later sealed the win with back-to-back points on a Sayed Hashem Issa attack followed by a Haider defensive gem, setting the stage for their showdown this evening against Oman.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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