SO NEAR, AND YET SO FAR: It’s for the second straight year that Qatar’s Al Rayyan lost to Iran club Matin Varamin in the final of the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball tournament, which concluded in Manila yesterday. The Iran side won 19-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-16. The win helped the Iranian side successfully punch the continent’s lone ticket up for grabs for the World Club Volleyball Championship to be played in Brazil.


Agencies/Manila


Matin Varamin of Iran reasserted their dominance in the Asian volleyball stage for the second straight year to win the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball crown here yesterday.
Like in last year’ final, they defeated Qatar’s Al Rayyan, winning 19-25 25-17, 26-24, 25-16 at the Mall of Asia Arena. With this victory, the Iranian side successfully punched the continent’s lone ticket up for grabs for the World Club Volleyball Championship in Brazil in May.
While only edging Qatar by one, 43-42 in the attacks department, Iran used a big 18-9 gap in block points to claim the championship trophy.
Shahram Mahmoudi top-scored with 19 markers on 15 kills and 4 blocks. He was named Most Valuable Player, while Seyed Mousavi had 13 points on 7 blocks and Mostafa Sharifat also added 13 in the win.
Al Rayyan opened a 22-17 edge in the opener with solid blocking upstairs and with smashing spikes coming from Cala Gerardo and Christian Savani.
Ibrahim put an end to the first set with an emphatic quick hit to draw first blood.But the moment Qatar couldn’t convert on their attacks, they knew they would be in big trouble.
Matin Varamin bombarded their opponents with attacks coming from all angles in the second set, opening an 18-11 advantage before equalising at 25-17.
Al Rayyan’s defence turned sour and were not able to stop Iran’s hard smashes
In the third set, Al Rayyan almost had everything their way, racing towards a 19-13 bubble. But Iran’s defence stonewalled them thereafter to claim the set 26-24.
Al Rayyan were left frustrated as Yosleyder Cala Gerardo was slapped with a red card for misconduct, leading to a free point for Iran.
The Iranians used this development to light up a 7-1 start in the fourth set. The tandem of Mostafa Sharifat and Shahram Mahmoudi then buried their foes even further, building a huge 22-13. From there it was all over for a struggling Qatar squad, who had to settle for second place for the second straight year.
The title is Iran’s 10th gold medal and the eighth in nine tournaments. They have won 16 medals overall in the Asian club championships.