Dar Kulaib bounce back

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Reigning champions Dar Kulaib bounced back from their first loss of the season last week to claim a four-set victory against Al Ahli last night in the Top Six of the 2023/2024 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.

After being stunned by Nabih Saleh in their previous outing, Dar Kulaib bounced back in force and showed why they are the title-holders against one of their chief challengers for the coveted championship. 

They defeated Ahli with a 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18) score line. While claiming their fourth triumph in five games to end the first round of the league’s Top Six, Dar Kulaib also handed Ahli their first loss of this stage.

The two teams thus head into round two with identical 4-1 win-loss records, and are among the favourites to book a place in the Golden Square semi-finals.

Dar Kulaib were boosted in last night’s match by the play of Brazilian professional Caio Oliveira, who was making his debut with the club following his recent signing.

Also playing key roles in the contest were their top Bahraini players Mohammed Yaqoob, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Hassan Alaiwi, Abdulla Mohammed and Ali Habib, to name a few.

For Ahli, leading the way were top national team stars Ali Ebrahim and Nasser Anan, while others to make contributions were Sayed Mohammed Abrar, Mohammed Habib and Hassan Shakhouri, among others.

Meanwhile, in another match on the final week of round one in the Top Six, Al Nasser claimed their first victory of this stage after stunning Al Najma with a come-from-behind 3-1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-19, 28-26) decision.

Following the result, Nasser and Najma remain the bottom two clubs on the table with just one win apiece from five matches. The Top Six is being played in a double round-robin.

With the first round of this stage complete, the second round is scheduled to begin from Sunday onwards. Dar Kulaib and Najma will go head-to-head in the evening’s late game that day, while in the early contest, Nasser will face Nabih Saleh, who are currently in the last position to earn a place in the Golden Square.

Third-placed Muharraq then play a crucial game against Ahli on Monday in that evening’s lone fixture.