Betim, Brazil, October 27, 2015 - Iran’s Paykan Tehran enjoyed a perfect opening at FIVB Men’s Club World Championship after subduing Ahly Sporting Club from Egypt 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-15). The solid display allowed the Asian side to move closer to a semifinal spot in Betim.
Paykan’s Farhad Ghaemi was the most prolific scorer on his side, with 14 points - the same amount than Egyptian opposite Ahmed El Kotb on Ahly. However, Paykan also seized a fine performance from Amir Ghafour, who nailed 12 kills.
Although being winless so far against Asian teams, Ahly began the game in a convincing fashion, spurred by Ahmed Elshikh’s blocks and serves from Hossam Abdalla. But just a while later, Ghafour and Mirzajanpour fired aces too and brought Paykan back to life (16-15). Ghafour added a block to help finish a first set that were very uphill at some moments.
The story repeated itself in the next chapter, as Ahly did better at the beginning but lacked the consistency showed by Paykan to keep the pace. And the third set was the widest one, with the Iranian side on relentless mode - Vermiglio shone steering the offensive force, Ghafour and Ghaemi were cannons from the service line and the Egyptian team chipped in with unforced errors to speed up the end.