Dar Kulaib claim comeback victory

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Dar Kulaib claimed a stunning come-from-behind, five-set victory against Nabih Saleh last night in the Top Six round of the 2023/2024 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.

After losing the first two sets, the defending champions roared back and pulled off the impressive win with a 3-2 (19- 25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-9) score line.

The victors were spearheaded by their top players Mohammed Yaqoob, Ali Mohammed, Hassan Alaiwi, Ali Habib, Hassan Al Warqa, Abdulla Mohammed, Mahmoud Abdulwahed and Brazilian import Caio Oliveira.

Nabih Saleh’s top performers were Sayed Hashem Isa, Mohammed Jassim and Hussain Ashoor, along with Nigerian professional Oyewale Oyedepo.

With the result, Dar Kulaib maintained their hold on first place on the Top Six standings and improved to an 8-1 win-loss record with one game to play in this phase.

Nabih Saleh suffered their sixth loss to go with three wins, and are on the verge of being eliminated from contention for a place in the Golden Square semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Muharraq swept to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-23) result against Al Nasser to boost their hopes of qualifying for the Golden Square.

Majeed Mohammed had 15 points to pace the winners, who also relied on the play of Mahmood Al Afia, Abbas Al Khabbaz, Ali Al Sairafi, Hussain Ehsan, Sayed Ali Mohammed and Ahmed Issa.

Recently signed import Pelegrin Vargas from Puerto Rico led Nasser with 18 points.

They also got contributions from Ebrahim Mohammed, Yousef Khaled, Mohammed Omar, but it wasn’t enough to claim the victory.

Muharraq claimed their fourth win to go with five losses in the Top Six round, while Nasser suffered their seventh loss to go with just two wins, as they have been eliminated from further title contention and are currently in last place on the standings.

The Top Six is being played in a double round-robin to determine the cast for the semis. Action continues with the final matchdays of this stage next week.

On Sunday, Nasser play Najma and Muharraq take on Nabih Saleh, followed on Monday by Ahli and Dar Kulaib locking horns.