Shahrdari Varamin of Iran on Friday claimed the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, defeating the Panasonic Panthers of Japan in a five-set thriller 25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 20-25, 14-16, while Taichung Bank finished sixth.
Fayazi Damnani Purya registered 19 points and had two blocks for Shahrdari Varamin, while teammate Razipoor Mohammad contributed 16 points to their comeback win at the Tianmu Sports Center in Taipei.
Michal Kubiak was outstanding for the Panthers, with the Poland player chalking up 20 points, including 17 kills from 38 attempts as the Panthers went up two sets to nil.
However, the Iran club roared back to win the next two sets and set up the decider. The Panthers hit a return that went out of bounds on the match-winning point, sparking jubilation among the victors.
However, there was an angry exchange shortly afterward, with Kubiak saying gestures by one of the opposition players were offensive.
Referees and team personnel intervened as angry words, and pushing and shoving ensued. They kept the two sides separated to enable post-match proceedings to begin.
It was the fourth year in a row that a club from Iran won the title, with the run started in 2016 by Sarmayeh Bank of Tehran.
Al-Rayyan of Qatar were third place, beating the Chennai Spartans 25-23, 25-19, 25-16.
Ho Chi Minh City prevailed over the Queensland Pirates of Australia 22-25, 25-22, 26-24, 21-25, 15-11 to finish seventh.
For home supporters, it was a disappointing end, with Taichung Bank faltering against Sri Lanka Ports Authority. losing 25-16, 20-25, 26-24, 19-25, 15-9.
“The Sri Lankan team had very good experience, while we have younger players and they needed to grow and improve through match experience year after year,” said Moro Branslav, Taichung Bank’s Serbian head coach.
“This tournament has been helpful for many of our team members to participate at the Universiade Games in Italy this summer,” he said.
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