Dar Kulaib lose podium place in West Asia volleyball

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Bahrain’s Dar Kulaib missed out on the bronze medals last night in the first West Asia Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, which wrapped up in Amman, Jordan.

The Kingdom’s representatives went down fighting in five sets to Police SC of Qatar in a tightly contested game for third place.

The Bahrainis led in the contest 2-1 but could not close things out in the fourth set and eventually the tie-breaker.

They lost with a 2-3 (19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 17-25, 16-18) score line.

It was a disappointing ending to the competition for Dar Kulaib, who made a promising start, winning three of their four preliminary round games and then taking their quarter-final.

They thus finished a solid fourth in the tournament, which featured some of the best clubs from across the region.

Bahrain international star Mohammed Yaqoob scored 24 points and tried to carry his team, but it was not enough.

Mahmoud Abdulwahed added 20, while Abdulla Mohammed finished with 10 points.

Coached by Brazilian tactician Leandro Kakaroto, Dar Kulaib also relied on Nasser Anan, Ali Habib, libero Hussain Sultan and Argentinian professional Juan Barrera.

Ayman Isa, another key player, suffered an injury during the match.

Dar Kulaib were the lone Bahraini side in the tournament, which was organised and run by the West Asia Volleyball Association.

The Bahrainis now shift their focus to the Golden Square semi-finals of the 2022/2023 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.