Qatar blank Kuwait, to meet Bahrain in title clash tomorrow

By Yash Mudgal/Doha

Two-time champions Qatar, who defeated Oman and Saudi Arabia in their first two matches, will now take on defending champions Bahrain in the title clash tomorrow.

In the first set, Qatar earned the two-point cushion at 5-3 and maintained the lead till the end to finish it 25-19. Kuwait, who played a good game against defending champions Bahrain, put up a good show in the second and third sets as well but came up short against the hosts.

In the second set, Kuwait players combined well to take a 9-8 lead. They were explosive in many spells but failed to extend it as the hosts increased their level at crucial moments and maintained their two-point lead before winning the set 25-22.

In the third set, Qatar led 16-13 at the second technical time-out and continued the momentum till the end (25-22).

“It was a good win for us. Kuwait played a tough game in the second set, but we managed to win it. We are on a high as we have won all our matches and are now ready to take on Bahrain,” said Qatar coach Igor Arbutina.

 Qatar last won the championship under the guidance of Arbutina in 2009.

Commenting over Qatar’s title decider against Bahrain, Arbutina said: “We have a good team. Our confidence is high before facing the strongest team in the championship. I hope we will regain the title.”

Chigbo scored 15 points, while captain Faraz scored 13 and Ababacr chipped in with 10 points for Qatar. For the losers, Abdul Majeed scored 11 while captain Mansoor spiked nine points.

“It was a difficult game for us as we played back-to-back matches. I am happy that we have won all our matches. We are playing well in the championship and hope to have a good game against Bahrain,” said Qatar’s setter Milos Stevanovic.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia fought back to beat Oman 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17) and register their first victory in the championship.

Having lost their first three fixtures, Saudi were playing only for pride and they did not disappoint their fans back home.

After losing the first set, the Saudi outfit fought back and won the next three to finish their campaign on a winning note.

Bin Sadd scored 21 points, while Bakheet and Beshy chipped in with 18 and 13 points, respectively, for the winners.

“We played a good game today. It was an important win for us. It was tough to win matches here as all the teams are very good in the championship. We are happy with today's victory over a good team like Oman,” said Saudi team's manager Anwar Ba Jassim.

On the other hand, it was the third loss for Oman in the championship. They will take on Kuwait in their last encounter tomorrow.