Khatam-Ardakan
Khatam Ardakan edged past Nakhonratchasima The Mall VC from Thailand in an intense quarterfinal game in the 2018 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, that lasted for three exhausting sets in which Iranian side prevailed only in the finish of each one – 25-22, 25-23, 25-23. A two-time consecutive MVP of the tournament, Shahram Mahmoudi (won the gold medal on both occasions with Sarmayeh Bank), top-scored for Ardakan with 14 points. The Brazilian Pablo Cirqueira led Nakhonratchasima with 16 points.
The true revelation of this year’s Asian Club Championship, the Pakistani Wapda, continued their unbeaten run as they downed Japanese Toray Arrows in a nerve-wrecking tie-breaker in which they returned from a 1-2 in sets – 25-21, 16-25, 23-25, 31-29, 22-20. Wapda saved two match balls in the fourth set (22-24) and four match balls in a deciding fifth set (10-14) to progress to the semis! Aimal Khan was the best scorer for the winning side with 29 points, including five kill blocks, while Kazuki Ochiai made 31 points for Toray.
The Vietnamese Sanest Khánh Hòa thrashed Long Power from Chinese Taipei, by a 3-1 (25-16, 25-12, 25-17).
Pushed by Ukrainians Roman Khandrolin and Oleh Shevchenko, and Russian Vasiliy Nosenko, the Kazakh representatives Atyrau beat Lanka Lions from Sri Lanka in four sets, partially 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, and 25-17, to complement the semifinal line-up.
Semifinals, August 5:
Khatam Ardakan (IRN) vs. Sanest Khánh Hòa (VNM)
Atyrau (KAZ) vs. Wapda (PAK)
To see complete results, stats, and standings, visit our Asian Club Championship 2018 / Male / Seniors page.
SUBSCRIBE to have full access to WoV PROFILES, STATS, and WoVVIDEO.
Discover what’s new in the volleyball world.
