Last year’s runners-up Al Arabi Club from Qatar made it to their second SMM 2016 Asia Men’s Club Volleyball Championship final in a row with a pulsating come-from-behind 25-19 19-25 23-25 28-26 15-9 triumph over Toyoda Gesei Trefuerza (Japan) on Tuesday.
In the final on Wednesday at 3.30 pm (Qatar time), Al Arabi will challenge Bank Sarmayeh Tehran VC (Iran), who ousted Shanghai Golden Age (China) in straight sets by 28-26 25-16 25-21.
After clinching the opening set with a flourish against the Japanese team at the Wunna Theikdi Hall in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, the Qatari team were rattled by Croatian 35-year-old professional Igor Omrcen and faced a serious elimination threat when Toyoda had two match-points (24-22) in the fourth set.
Jorge Garcia Gonzalez, coming in place of off-colour Leandro Vissotto Neves, and former Cuban national team player Miguel Dalmau Calderon, joining the team to strengthen net play, saved Al Arabi with a spike after a big rally and a solid block off Omrcen, respectively. Toyoda forced another match point through the Croatian. Gonzalez again came up with a winner keep the challenge alive.
Then in a dramatic turn-around, Al Arabi got two set points with middle player Thiago de Oliveira Guimaraes producing a prod and Gonzalez firing a smash. The latter managed another kill and Al Arabi managed to take the match into the tie-break set.
After surrendering a two-point edge (8-6), Toyoda got 9-8 ahead in the decider but Omrcen netted his smash to leave the scores tied. At this stage, a flurry of six points, started by Ahmed Bassam Diab’s second ace, handed Al Arabi the set and the match to a wild celebration of the players and coach Maaouia Lajnef.
The match had a bitter end for Omrcen, who had a massive 44 out of his 46 points off his attack, put the last smash wide, getting probably frustrated by Al Arabi’s resurgence.
Lajnef was thrilled by Al Arabi’s second consecutive appearance in the final and recalled the proceedings, “The game was really tough. We did well in the first set but then from the second set onwards, we started to make mistakes, especially in reception and in attack. The Japanese team put further pressure on our reception and we couldn’t stop their professional player Omrcen who was in a great form today. He made 86 attacks, winning 44 points and he finished the match with 46 points.
“But Hamdulah in the fourth set, when they were leading, we believed that we could come back, especially with the good performance by Jorge Gonzales. Even when Miguel got inside, they were 24-23 ahead with a match point against us and he did a good job with his teammates, which helped us win the fourth set 28-26 and inspired the team to continue to play good in the last set.”
Talking about the Iranian rivals, he said, We know them very well. They have players of their national team. It’s a strong team but it’s the final now, it’s a good opportunity for us to showcase our abilities and prove that we deserve to be champions. Inshallah, we will do our best and give 100 percent to be the worthy champions.
“There are positive vibes in the group and all the players are motivated enough to make a good match on Wednesday,” Lajnef added.
النتائج

Semi-finals
Sarmayeh Bank Tehran VC (Iran) 3–0 Shanghai Golden Age (China) 28–26 25–16 25–21
Al Arabi Club (Qatar) 3–2 Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza (Japan) 25–19 19–25 23–25 28–26 15–9
5th–8th Semi-finals
Maseco Tphcm (Vietnam) 2–3 Altay VC (Kazakhstan) 33–31 21–25 21–25 25–21 14–16
Taiwan Power (Chinese Taipei) 3–0 Myanmar (Myanmar) 25–21 30–28 25–21
9th place match
Gas Aljanoob (Iraq) 1–3 Polri Samator (Indonesia) 19–25 20–25 25–12 12–25
11th place match
Wing 46 Phitsanulok (Thailand) 3–0 Al Jazira Club (UAE) 25–0 25–0 25–0
13th place match
Malaysia (Malaysia) 3–0 Hong Kong (Hong Kong) 25–18 25–21 25–18
Wednesday’s fixtures (Myanmar times)

Final
19:00 Al Arabi Club (Qatar) vs Sarmayeh Bank Tehran VC (Iran)
3rd place match
16:30 Shanghai Golden Age (China) vs Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza (Japan)
5th place match
14:00 Altay VC (Kazakhstan) vs Taiwan Power (Chinese Taipei)
7th place match
11:30 Maseco Tphcm (Vietnam) vs Myanmar (Myanmar)