Betim, Brazil, October 28, 2015 - South American champions UPCN San Juan from Argentina moved forward to the semifinal stage of FIVB Men’s Club World Championship after defeating Ahly Sporting Club of Egypt 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-21). The result also qualified Iran’s Paykan Tehran to the Final Four of the competition.
Bulgarian opposite Nikolay Uchikov led the charge for UPCN after a slow start, to finish as the main scorer of his side with 11 points. Fellow Bulgarian Todor Aleksiev and Serbia’s Petar Krsmanovic trailed him with 10 kills apiece, while Ahly’s Ahmed El Kotb topped the charts with a 13-point game.
As in Tuesday, Ahly was pumped up with energy at the beginning, and although this time they were able to keep that spirit for a while longer, UPCN tied the scores after several Egyptian mistakes. Right after, rock-solid blocks by Krsmanovic and Uchikov placed the South American champions ahead for the first time (23-21) and UPCN didn’t miss their chance.
The advantage brought to light UPCN’s finest game, with stronger spikes and blocks that created wide leads on 16-8 and 18-9 during the second set. Ahly bounced back on the third chapter and the game got closer, but always with UPCN on control, until the final point materialised by an opponent error.