Volleyball in Algeria

[Al-khiyal]

The 12-member Algeria men's volleyball squad left Thursday (November 17th) for Manama, Bahrain, to partake in the fifth Arab Volleyball Championship, which will to be held until November 24th. National coach Kamel Imeloul and Salim Bouhella said the team is well prepared with good discipline, stressing he is confident Algeria will be able match last year's runner-up finish.

Algeria to compete in Arab Volleyball Championship

[Al-khiyal]

BAHRAIN stormed into the semi-finals of the 15th Arab Volleyball Championship following a crucial 22-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-23 victory over Qatar in a dramatic match last night at the Juffair Youth Centre.

The hosts rallied from a set behind to clinch their third successive win in this five-team Group 'B' and handed Qatar their second defeat in a row - after their opening match loss to favourites Tunisia - and send them out of the tournament.

Bahrain are presently on six points from three matches and are joint leaders with Tunisia who defeated Kuwait 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 earlier yesterday. Bahrain will play their last match in the group tomorrow against Tunisia to determine the group winners and runners-up.

In Group 'B', Saudi Arabia got their second consecutive win beating Sudan 25-21, 30-32, 25-16, 25-12 to share the lead with Algeria on four points each from two matches.

In the same group, Oman shrugged off their defeats to Algeria and Saudi Arabia and clinched their first win beating Iraq 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 to revive their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.

It was the third defeat for Iraq who are at the bottom on three points from three matches and have lost any chance of booking a berth in the semi-finals.

Qatar had a good start last night and notched the first set 25-22 following good teamwork led by veteran spiker Mubarak Eid.

However, Bahrain fought back and took the next three sets 25-16, 25-18, 25-23 in thrilling fashion.

The Bahrain team were captained by Fuad Abdulwahed and showed influential play by their team members, including their top spikers Sadeq Ebrahim and Fadhel Abbas who were at the peak of their form.

Bahrain's other spikers Jassim Al Nabhan, Hassan Dhahi, Ebrahim Nusaif, playmaker Mahmood Hassan and free player Ayman Harwana also made key contributions to the triumph.

Today is a rest day and the tournament resumes tomorrow with two matches in each group.

[Al-khiyal]

BAHRAIN wrapped up their Group 'B' first round on a winning note, defeating Tunisia 20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 in the 15th Arab Volleyball Championship last night at the Juffair Youth Centre.

The hosts rallied to clinch a sensational win which gave them top spot in thee five-team group which also includes Qatar, Lebanon and Kuwait.

It was the fourth successive win for Bahrain who finished on eight points, one ahead of Tunisia who suffered their first defeat in the tournament and will have to win their last match today against Lebanon to qualify for the semi-finals as group runners-up.

In the same group, Lebanon kept their hopes alive for a semis spot following a 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 15-6 victory over Kuwait in a thriller.

Algeria and Saudi Arabia secured their berths in the semi-finals following straight-set wins over Sudan and Iraq respectively in Group 'A'.

The Algerians beat Sudan 25-23, 25-16, 25-18 to share the lead with Saudi Arabia who followed suit with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-17 romp against Iraq.

Algeria and Saudi Arabia will clash tonight at 7pm to determine the group winners and runners-up spots...

[Al-khiyal]

FAVOURITES Algeria finished on top of Group 'A' in the 15th Arab Volleyball Championship following a deserving 19-25, 25-19, 26-24, 21-25, 15-11 victory over reigning champions Saudi Arabia in their last first-round match last night at the Juffair Youth Centre.

With both sides having secured berths in the semi-finals after winning all their previous three matches, this tie was to decide the winners and runners-up of this five-team group which also includes Sudan, Oman and Iraq who failed to qualify.

It was the Algerians who proved the better of the two sides and won the match in less than 80 minutes after a splendid performance by their team members.

It was the fourth successive win for Algeria who were runners-up in the previous edition of this championship held in Algeria in 2004 as part of the Arab Games...

Algeria top group with clean slate

[Al-khiyal]

Algeria finished first in Group A at the 15th Arab Volleyball Championship in Bahrain by defeating Saudi Arabia 4-1 Tuesday (November 21st). In Group B, Tunisia qualified for the semis 4-0 against Lebanon. On Wednesday, Algeria will clash with Tunisia, while Bahrain will take on Saudi Arabia. The final is scheduled for Thursday.

Algeria to meet Tunisia in Arab Volleyball Championship semi-final

[Al-khiyal]

BAHRAIN crashed out of the 15th Arab Volleyball Championship after losing to GCC champions Saudi Arabia 20-25, 26-24, 30-28, 32-34 in an exciting semi-final last night at the Juffair Youth Centre. It was one of the most thrilling matches in the tournament which went on for over two hours as the visitors set up a showdown against Tunisia who defeated 2004 runners-up Algeria 25-21, 26-24, 15-25, 25-22 in another thriller. The final is scheduled for tonight at 6pm which will be preceded by the third-place match between Bahrain and Algeria at 4pm.

[Al-khiyal]

TUNISIA bagged the 15th Arab Volleyball Championship following a 33-35, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20 victory over GCC champions Saudi Arabia in the final last night at the Juffair Youth Centre.

The Tunisians, coached by Hisham bin Ramadan, battled for nearly two hours to secure the title overcoming a shaky start after losing the first set.

In a consolation match played earlier yesterday, Bahrain went down 19-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 14-16 to runners-up of the last tournament Algeria who finished third overall.

The event was attended by president of the Bahrain Volleyball Association and Arab Volleyball Association Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa who honoured the winners and runners-up as well as other prizes to seven individuals.

The best server award went to Algeria's Hisham Qammadi, Ahmed Al Bakheit of Saudi Arabia won the best receiver prize, the best setter was Saudi Arabia's Khalil Ibrahim, Sadeq Ebrahim of Bahrain was adjudged best spiker, Hammam Saifuddin of Tunisia best blocker, Bahrain's Ayman Harwana best defender and Tariq Al Simmiri of Tunisia best player.