Al Arabi’s Camejo Durruthy Osmel spikes against Paykan
Taipei, Chinese Taipei, August 20, 2015 - Taichung Bank delighted home fans with a scintillating win over Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar VC in the semifinals of the Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship on Thursday. The team from Chinese Taipei will take on Al Arabi of Qatar in the competition's final.
Hosts Taichung Bank, who are yet to concede defeat in the competition, performed superbly to power past Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar in straight sets 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-21) to next go up against Al Arabi Sport Club in the final clash. The Qatari side pulled off a stunning straight-set 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-15) victory over powerhouses Paykan from Iran on Thursday in the second semifinal encounter.
Taichung Bank’s victory means Chinese Taipei will be represented in the final for the first time since the tournament was launched in 1999. The country's best showing in the competition came in 2003 in Tehran, Iran, when the Taiwan Power team finished third.
Liu Hung-Min led Taichung Bank with 17 points including 16 points from devastating spikes. Wang Ming-Chun assisted with 10 kills. Martin Sopko was the top scorer for Pavlodar with 12 points.
“We prepared well for this match against Pavlodar, watching videos and individual players’ information before the match. Moreover, we tried to apply different strategies in response to different opposite players, which produced a satisfying result for our team and our supporters,” said Taichung Bank’s head coach Chen Ke-Chou after the match.
In the clash between 2012 champions Al Arabi Sport Club and seven-time champions Paykan, whose seven key players competed for second-placed Iran at the recent Asian Senior Men’s Championship, Camejo Durruthy tallied 25 points for Al Arabi, including 23 kills from 37 attempts. Nasr Esfahani Alireza led Paykan with 11 points.
Al Arabi's participation in the final marks the fifth time a Qatari team appear at this level of the competition. Al Arabi won the Asian Men’s Club title in 2012 and Al -Rayyan qualified for the final in 2013 and 2014, but were beaten by teams from Iran on both occasions. In 2010, Al Arabi also represented Qatar in the championship final, but lost to Paykan.
In the 5th-8th playoffs, Korea Armed Forces struggled to defeat South Gas Club from Iraq in a pulsating four sets 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 27-25, 25-22). Jeong Yeongho scored 17 points for Korea Armed Forces, while Cala Gerardo emerged as the top scorer for South Gas Club after scoring 24 points for the Iraq side.
The other encounter saw China’s BAIC Motor outclass Migrasiya from Turkmenistan 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-19).
Meanwhile, the playoffs saw Nakhonratchasima from Thailand finish ninth after defeating Japan’s Panasonic in four sets 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23).
Trang An Ninh Binh from Vietnam claimed 11th place following their convincing straight-set 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-21) win over Cignal of the Philippines. Oman’s Sohar powered past Australia’s Victorian Volleyball Academy in four sets 3-1 (27-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-17) to finish in 13th place, with NDS from Afghanistan in 15th position after pulling off a sensational 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-14) victory over Sporting Club from Kuwait.
Thursday's results at University of Taipei Hall
SemifinalsAl Arabi Sport Club (Qatar) b Paykan (Iran) 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-15)
Taichung Bank Club (Chinese Taipei) b Pavlodar VC (Kazakhstan) 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-21)
Playoffs5th-8th: Korea Armed Forces (Korea) b South Gas Club (Iraq) 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 27-25, 25-22) and BAIC Motor (China) b Migrasiya (Turkmenistan) 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-19)
15th-16th: NDS (Afghanistan) b Qadsia Sporting Club (Kuwait) 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-14)
13th-14th: Sohar (Oman) b Victorian Volleyball Academy (Australia) 3-1 (27-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-17)
11th-12th: Trang An Ninh Binh (Vietnam) b Cignal (Philippines) 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-21)
9th-10th: Nakhonratchasima (Thailand) b Panasonic (Japan) 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23)
Match schedule (all local times) at University of Taipei Hall
Playoffs11.00: 7th-8th: South Gas Club (Iraq) v Migrasiya (Turkmenistan)
13.00: 5th-6th: Korea Armed Forces (Korea) v BAIC Motor (China)
15.00: Third-place playoff: Paykan (Iran) v Pavlodar VC (Kazakhstan)
17.00: Championship match: Taichung Bank (Chinese Taipei) v Al Arabi (Qatar)
19.00: Awarding and Closing Ceremonies
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