Hosts Taichung Bank and powerhouses Paykan still in contention for Asian Men’s Club crown

Taipei, Chinese Taipei, August 17, 2015 - Hosts Taichung Bank Club
defeated Al Arabi Sport Club in a hard-fought five-set thriller to
become the only undefeated team at the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball
Championship on Monday.

In-form Taichung Bank fielded a team composed of Chinese Taipei national squad players, who returned from Iran with a well-earned sixth place at the recent Asian Senior Men’s Championship. They struggled to beat the 2012 champions from Qatar 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11) to make a clean sweep in the Pool E quarterfinals.

Liu Hung-Min emerged as Taichung Bank Club's top scorer with 18 points, all of them through devastating hits, while Wang Ming-Chun assisted with 13 kills. Camejo Durruthy scored a match-high 27 points for Al Arabi, including 23 kills from 55 determined attempts.

In the other Pool E clash, Iraq’s South Gas Club were provided with a strong challenge by Migrasiya, before narrowly edging the side from Turkmenistan in five sets 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-13).

Cala Gerardo led South Gas Club with a massive 30 points, including 27 kills from 52 attempts, while Jumayev Meret topscored with 20 points for Migrasiya.

South Gas Club’s head coach Alaa Abdulsattar admitted that the match against Turkmenistan’s Migrasiya was a hard-fought duel. “I would like to thank God for the good luck. Before the match, we thought that we were going to win easily; however, we underestimated our opponents. Thankfully we reacted quickly. I’m happy we finally won the match,” he said.

In the Pool F encounters, BAIC Motor from China, who finished third at the previous edition of the Asian competition held in Pasay, the Philippines last year, lived up to all expectations to brush off Korea Armed Forces in four sets 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-15, 26-24). Wang Chen and Shin Yungsuk respectively led BAIC Motor and Korea Armed Forces, both with 13 points.

Hot favourites and seven-time champions Paykan from Iran, who have already suffered their first loss in this top-flight tournament at the hands of BAIC Motor, ended t Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar VC's remarkable unbeaten run, following a magnificent come-from-behind 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-11) triumph.

Reza Safaei scored 22 points for Paykan. The hard-attacking spiker led in all skills including 12 points in spiking, seven solid blocks and three ace serves.

Meanwhile, in the 9th-16th classification round for the eight lower-ranked teams, NDS tasted their first victory in the annual tournament as the Afghan squad performed impressively to beat Australia’s Victorian Volleyball Academy in hard-earned five sets 3-2 (25-18, 11-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-12) in Pool G, with Thailand’s Nakhonratchasima outclassing Japan’s Panasonic 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19).

In Pool H, Kuwait’s Qadsia Sporting Club played more consistently to beat Oman’s Sohar 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22), while Vietnam’s Trang An Ninh Binh overcame Cignal of the Philippines in four sets 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-22, 25-20).

After the pool round-robin quarter-finals, hosts Taichung Bank Club topped Pool E with eight points from three straight wins, followed by Al Arabi Sport Club from Qatar with seven points from two wins against one loss. Iraq’s South Gas Club and Turkmenistan’s Migrasiya came in third and fourth places with two and one point respectively.

A fired-up Paykan captured the top spot in Pool F with six points from two wins against one loss. Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar VC and China came in second and third places with six points each from two wins against one loss. Korea Armed Forces became the only team yet to win a match.

The pool round-robin competition was also held in the 9th -16th classification round, which saw Thailand’s Nakhonratchasim top Pool G with nine points from three consecutive wins. Japan’s Panasonic came second with six points from two wins against one loss. Afghanistan’s NDS and Australia’s Victorian Volleyball Academy finished third and fourth with two and one point.

Trang An Ninh Binh emerged as the top team in Pool H with nine points from three consecutive victories. Cignal from the Philippines, Qadsia Sporting Club and Oman’s Sohar came in second, third and fourth positions with five, three and one point respectively.

Tuesday is a rest day. The knockout quarterfinals resume on Wednesday, with the four victorious teams advancing to the semifinals and the losers relegated to contest the 5th-8th playoffs. The 9th-16th playoffs will also be held among the eight lower-ranked sides.

Monday's results at the University of Taipei Hall
Quarterfinals
Pool E
South Gas Club (Iraq) b Migrasiya (Turkmenistan) 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-13)
Taichung Bank Club (Chinese Taipei) b Al Arabi Sport Club (Qatar) 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11)

Pool F
BAIC Motor (China) b Korea Armed Forces (Korea) 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-15, 26-24)
Paykan (Iran) b Pavlodar VC (Kazakhstan) 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-11)

Monday's results at Taipei Gym
9th-16th Classification round
Pool G
NDS (Afghanistan) b Victorian Volleyball Academy (Australia) 3-2 (25-18, 11-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-12)
Nakhonratchasima (Thailand) b Panasonic (Japan) 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19)

Pool H
Qadsia Sporting Club (Kuwait) b Sohar (Oman) 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22)
Trang An Ninh Binh (Vietnam) b Cignal (Philippines) 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-22, 25-20)

Team ranking
Quarterfinals
Pool E
1. Taichung Bank Club (Chinese Taipei) 8 points
2. Al Arabi Sport Club (Qatar) 7 points
3. South Gas Club (Iraq) 2 points
4. Migrasiya (Turkmenistan) 1 point

Pool F
1. Paykan (Iran) 6 points
2. Pavlodar VC (Kazakhstan) 6 points
3. BAIC Motor (China) 6 points
4. Korea Armed Forces (Korea) 0 points

9th-16th Classification round
Pool G
1. Nakhonratchasim (Thailand) 9 points
2. Panasonic (Japan) 6 points
3. NDS (Afghanistan) 2 points
4. Victorian Volleyball Academy (Australia) 1 point

Pool H
1. Trang An Ninh Binh (Vietnam) 9 points
2. Cignal (Philippines) 5 points
3. Qadsia Sporting Club 3 points
4. Sohar (Oman) 1 point

Match schedule (All local times)
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
At University of Taipei Hall
Quarterfinals (Knockout)
13.00: 1E-Taichung Bank Club v 4F-Korea Armed Forces
15.00: 1F-Paykan v 4E-Migrasiya
17.00: 2E-Al Arabi Sport Club v 3F-BAIC Motor
19.00: 2F-Pavlodar VC v 3E-South Gas Club

At Taipei Gym
9th-16th playoffs
13.00: 3G-NDS v 4H-Sohar
15.00: 3H-Qadsia Sporting Club v 4G-Victorian Volleyball Academy
17.00: 1G-Nakhonratchasima v 2H-Cignal
19.00: 1H-Trang An Ninh Binh v 2G-Panasonic

Click here to visit the competition website.