Dar Kulaib dominant in West Asian volleyball

TDT | Manama                                             

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com    

Bahrain volleyball giants Dar Kulaib yesterday made a dominant start to their title bid in the first West Asia Men’s Club Championship, currently being played in Amman, Jordan.

The Kingdom’s representatives posted a clean 3-0 (25-5, 25-14, 25-8) sweep of Shabab Nabi Ilyas from Palestine in their opening fixture in Group B of the tournament’s preliminary round.

The competition is being organised and run by the West Asia Volleyball Association and it is scheduled to take place until March 18. Dar Kulaib are the lone Bahraini side competing. Nasser Anan was their top scorer in the contest with 14 points.

Anan was signed specifically for this event from fellow-Bahraini volleyball juggernauts Al Ahli. Also playing key roles for their team were Mohammed Yaqoob, Ali Habib, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Ayman Isa, Hasan Alaiwi, libero Hussain Sultan, and Argentinian professional Juan Barrera.

Dar Kulaib are coached by Brazilian Leandro Kakaroto. They and Shabab Nabi Ilyas are in the same pool as Al Rayyan of Qatar, South Gas SC of Iraq and Shabab Al Hussein of Jordan. Dar Kulaib return to the playing court today in a crucial contest against Rayyan.

The game is scheduled to get underway at 5pm, Bahrain time. They are then set to play South Gas on Sunday before facing Shabab Al Hussein in their final group fixture on Monday. Meanwhile, Group A in the tournament features Kuwait SC of Kuwait, Police SC of Qatar, Almeena VC of Yemen, Oman SC of Oman and home team Al Wehdat.

Following a single round-robin, the top four teams in each group march through to the tournament’s quarter-finals, which will be held in the knockout system. Aside from the West Asia men’s tournament, Dar Kulaib are also set to compete in the Golden Square semi-finals of the 2022/2023 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.