Record holders Ahly Egypt and Esperance set a final face off for the 2014 Men’s African Club Championship after both teams passed successfully their semifinal encounters over Tunisian teams Sfax and Etoile du Sahel respectively at Sousse Olympic Hall in Tunisia on Thursday.
Now Ahly will battle it out against Esperance in the competition final on Saturday where the winners clinch the title and book a ticket to the 2014 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship in Brazil. A purely Tunisian encounter between compatriots Sfax and Etoile du Sahel will determine the bronze medal winners.
Semifinal 1-4
Ahly Egypt fought bravely for 116 minutes to overcome Sfax in Epic tiebreaker 3-2 (29-27, 28-26, 17-25, 21-25, 15-12) that made the spectators on their toes with the up and down performance of both teams.
Ahly started the match in an outstanding performance using the opposite Ahmed kotb to send his sharp hits from positions 2 to lead in the first and second set. The situation markedly changed after the injury of the outside hitter Ahmed Abdelal, as Ahly was affected clearly, while Sfax returned back aggressively using the experience of Noureddine Hfaedah and Ismail Moalla to win two sets and extend the match to tiebreaker where Ahly regained their rhythm to win 15-12 and clinch a ticket to the final.
Esperance (TUN) set the second consecutive final spot after a straight sets victory over compatriots and organisers Etoile du Sahel 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-23)
The winners controlled the match from the start and succeeded to maintain their performance throughout the match to win 3-0 and clinch the second consecutive final spot after 2013 when they lost the final against neighbors Sfax.
Semifinal 5-8
Algeria’s Bourj Bouarririj rebounded from a set behind to clinch a 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22) victory over Libya’s Ahly Benighazi to play for the 5th and 6th positions leaving the losers for the 7th and 8th places.
In another Algerian- Libyan face off, Setif (ALG) beat Ahly Tripoli (LIB) 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-23) and consequently Setif plays Bouarrirj for the 5th an 6th places, while another purely Libyan encounter will determine the 7th and 8th positions.
In the other play off matches Prisons (KEN) beat compatriots GSU 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 31-29, 25-23), FAP (CMR) beat Misurata (LIB) 3-2 (14-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-18,18-16) in 9 to 12 positions where the winners play for the 9th and 10th places, while losers play for the 11th and 12th.
Ittihad Tangier (MAR) beat Espoire (COD) 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-14, 25-23), while Bafia (CMR) took over Compatriots Port 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-20). The winners will play for the 13th and 14th places, while losers play for 11th and 12th places.
Ranking positions on Friday include also two matches for the 17 to 20 places where Nahda (SUD) faces Autoridade (MOZ) and Nemo Stars (UGA) meets Beau Vallon (SEY).
Finals programme
Ranking positions 9-10 on March 28
19-20 Nahda (SUD) v Autoridade (MOZ)
17-18 Nemo Stars (UGA) v Beau Vallon (SEY)
15-16 Espoir (COD) v Port (CMR)
13-14 Ittihad Tanger (MAR) v Bafia (CMR)
11-12 GSU (KEN) v Misurata (LIB)
9-10 Prisons (KEN) v FAP (CMR)
Final rankings 1-8 on March 29, 2014
7-8 Ahly Tripoli (LIB) v AHLY Benighazi (LIB)
5-6 Stif (ALG) v Borj B (ALG)
3-4 Etoile (TUN) v Sfax (TUN)
Final 1-2 Esperance (TUN) v Ahly (EGY)