Nabih Saleh stun Dar Kulaib in volleyball league

TDT | Manama                                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Nabih Saleh posted a stunning five-set victory over defending champions Dar Kulaib to wrap up the fourth week of play in the Top Six round of the 2023/2024 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.

Nabih Saleh were the underdogs in their contest against the previously undefeated title-holders, but were able to fight back from a set down and come away with a resounding 3-2 (17-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 15-13) result. Hussain Ashoor was their leading scorer in the match, finishing with14 points, while Nigerian professional Oyewale Oyedepo added 13.

Bahrain senior men’s national team stars Sayed Hashem Isa and Mohammed Jassim also had 13 apiece, as Nabih Saleh enjoyed a balanced effort from their side to eke out the big win. For Dar Kulaib, who tasted their first loss of the entire season, Mohammed Yaqoob was their top man with 25 points, while Ali Mohammed added 12 in the losing effort.

Nabih Saleh claimed their second victory in four outings to stay in contention for a place in the Golden Square semi-finals, while Dar Kulaib stayed on three victories in four games. In another week four contest, Al Ahli went to solo first place after coasting to a well-deserved 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) triumph against Al Najma.

Bahraini international Ali Ebrahim scored 13 points to spearhead Ahli, while Mohammed Habib added 10 and Sayed Mohammed Abrar contributed nine.

Nasser Anan finished with six markers to fuel the Ahli cause. For Najma, Swedish professional Jacob Link scored 22 points, but it was not enough to help lift his team to the win. Fadhel Abbas added six and Hassan Dhahi had five. Ahli extended their undefeated record after four matches in the Top Six as they went to the top with Dar Kulaib’s defeat.

Najma, on the other hand, suffered their third loss to go with just a single win so far. The Top Six of the league is being played in a double round-robin. The first round continues until the first week of January, with the second round following soon after from January 7 to 29. That will set the stage for the Golden Square.