By Nadir Hameed
JEDDAH — Unbeaten Catalonia rallied to smash past defending champion IISJ 07 team in a thrilling final to bag the 2017 IISJAA Volleyball Championship here recently.
Shareef Khan team prevailed over Gunners at 3 sets to 1 for the 3rd place.
The tournament, sponsored by Careem and co-sponsored by Abeer Medical Group, with 10 teams vying for honors.
The teams — Akhwan, Athletic Alliance, Catalonia, Shababiya Starz, IISJ 07, Masti Ki Paatshala (MKP), Gunners, FC Brothers, Shareef Khan and IISJ 04 — were grouped into two pools as Group A and B. The competitions were held on a league-cum-knockout format.
The group stage matches started with a bang as debutants Catalonia and FC Brothers toppling defending champion IISJ 07 and an experienced Masti Ki Paatshala. Gunners stunned Shareef Khan in two straight sets, while Shababiya Starz started their journey with a win over Akhwan. IISJ 04 also won the first game and Athletic Alliance gave its best but couldn’t succeed.
The tournament advanced into the final day of the group stages with Gunners and Catalonia qualifying for the knockout from each group, leaving the other team fighting for No.2 positions. MKP faced Shareef Khan and Shababiya Starz were against IISJ 07 in a winner to take it all situation. Shareef Khan eased its way by beating MKP in two straight sets, while IISJ 07 made sure that it is in for the KOs after a hard-fought final game in the group stages against Shababiya Starz.
The semifinals pitted Catalonia vs. Shareef Khan and Gunners vs. IISJ 07.
In the first semis Catalonia won the first set with Nabeel Aziz attacking with strong smashes, supported by Assam Ahmed. Shareef Khan fought back and bagged the second set with Abrar Khan standing out as the star performer. Then the young Catalonia took the game away from Shareef Khan as Umar Ahmed got aces through his serves, soft drop points by Sunbul, athletic runs and takes from Olyan Basith and Atif Syed. A well-knit Catalonya thus stormed into the final.
In the second semis, IISJ 07 shocked group winners Gunners in 3 straight sets, where captain Zaki, despite being injured, played a vital role. Shams Khan yet again proved to be the dangerman for Gunners with stunning service. He was supported by young gun Saeed.
On the final day, Shareef Khan and Gunners battled it out for the 3rd place and Gunners won 3 sets to 1. Shareef Khan fought well with great moves by Nazeer Farooqui, Fahad Basith, Abud Juman and others but in vain. Gunners under the leadership of Fareed Ahmed and with fine support from Waleed Naser, Osama Irfan, Parwarish, Obaid Ali and Salman Patel exhibited fine teamwork.
The debutant Catalonia and defending champion IISJ 07 made the final a thriller. IISJ 07 began with a bang beating Catalonia soundly in the first set. But the young guns of Catalonia bounced back with coordinated team effort. Nabeel Aziz smashed his way to tie the match by winning the second set. It was a point-to-point grim battle in the next two sets which went in favor of Catalonya, making the debutant an unbeaten champion.
During the closing ceremony the key awards were handed out by main sponsor Careem’s representative Shah Mohammed Samihuddin.
Co-sponsor Abeer Medical Group ran its latest Anti-Smoking Campaign during the event which struck a chord with the youngsters.
Overall the six-day event was well received by the members of IISJAA who praised the efforts of the executive committee members Suhail Mehdi, Syed Maqdoom, Ameen Uzzaman, Nadir Hameed, Nabeel Shaikh, Zubair Siddiqui and Muzammil Hashmi. The team was supported by a referees panel of Fareed Ali Khan, Mohammed Sami and Ahmed Zameer.
Individual awards were also presented to outstanding players: Best Spiker — Nabeel Aziz (Catalonia); Best Libero — Fahad Basith (Shareef Khan); Best Service — Shams Khan (IISJ 07) and Best Kit — Shababiya Starz.
