Dar Kulaib barge into West Asia volleyball semis

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Bahrain’s Dar Kulaib barged last night into the semi-finals of the first West Asia Men’s Club Championship, currently being played in Amman, Jordan.

The Bahraini representatives swept past Oman SC of Oman 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-23) in their round-of-eight contest.

Argentinian professional Juan Barrera top scored for Dar Kulaib in the game with 18 points, while Bahrain international star Mohammed Yaqoob added 17 points.

Coached by Brazilian head coach Leandro Kakaroto, Dar Kulaib also relied on their other top players including Nasser Anan, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Ali Habib, Ayman Isa and libero Hussain Sultan.

Dar Kulaib are now set to face off with Kuwait SC of Kuwait in the final four.

That game will be played today at 4pm, Bahrain time.

The Kuwaitis advanced with a win in another quarter-final yesterday, edging past Shabab Al Hussein of Jordan 3-2 (26-24, 20-25, 21-25, 25-15, 15-7).

The second semi-final contest will be an all-Qatari clash between Police SC and Al Rayyan. Police SC defeated South Gas SC of Iraq 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25- 19), while Rayyan were dominant against Al Wehdat of Jordan 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-12).

Dar Kulaib qualified for the knockout stages after winning three of their four games in the preliminary round.

The Bahrainis first triumphed against Shabab Nabi Ilyas from Palestine in their first assignment in Group B, but then lost to Rayyan.

They bounced back against South Gas and closed out the preliminary stage with a win over Shabab Al Hussein.

Dar Kulaib are the lone Bahraini side in the tournament, which has been organised and is run by the West Asia Volleyball Association.

It is scheduled to continue until Saturday.

Aside from the West Asia men’s tournament, Dar Kulaib are also set to compete in the Golden Square semi-finals of the 2022/2023 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.