Unbeaten Qatar cruised into today’s final showdown with Iran after pulling off a stunning 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-16) win over Japan in the semi-finals of the 6th AVC Cup for Men at the University of Taipei (Tianmu) Gymnasium yesterday.
Qatar and Japan entered the court in confidence as both sides were seeking a spot in the final with the first set levelled at 10-10. Encouraged by a winning block completed by small setter Kobayashi Mitsuki at 15-13, the Japanese held a narrow lead at 20-19 before Qatar’s destructive serves and thundering attacks prevailed over Japanese brick-wall defence. With the exciting cheers and whistles, Qatar claimed the hard-fought set 25-21.
In the second set, the Japanese continued with their flexible tactics and clever attacks to narrowly surge ahead the Qataris. Although Qatar trailed closely with dink spikes and solid blocks, Japan survived from the tense set 25-22.
The third set saw both sides trade strong blows until the second technical timeout at 16-15. Holding advantage of high-point attacks, height and aggressive serves, Qatar gave away only four more points to wrap up the set comfortably at 25-19.
Throughout the fourth set, Japan fought at full blast, trying to pierce into the rivals’ solid blocks. Although Miyaura Kento helped Japan finish a long rally with his consecutive attempts of spikes to a 6-5 lead in the set, Qatar could always find an easier way to respond making use of their height and power. They widened the gap from 8-7 to 16-10 at the second technical timeout. An incredible digging by Erfan Gholamipour from the bench area regardless of his safety spurred his teammates to rush to a 25-16 set win and to the final showdown of the 6th AVC Cup for Men.
“We were under pressure from the Japanese orderly blocks and solid defence, and we had made some mistakes that were not seen before in this match. But we were able to fix the problems in time and won this thrilling game. As a coach, I did not focus too much on which team we are going to meet in the final. Instead, I focus more on improving my teams,” said Qatar head coach Camilo Soto.
“My responsibility today on the court was to be a good receiver to ensure smooth combination of attacks. We have to keep patience, which we lacked in the second set so we lost the set,” commented Ribeiro Renan from Qatar.
Unbeaten Qataris cruise to AVC Cup final
