AVC Men’s Club Champs/Sarmayeh Bank Pushes Al-Arabi Back

Ninh Binh, Vietnam, July 5, 2017 – Fired-up Sarmayeh Bank from Iran moved a step closer to winning back-to-back titles at the SMM 2017 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship as they put it past fighting Al Arabi to set up a final showdown with old foes Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza from Japan on Thursday.

The Sarmayeh’s convincing 25-23 25-17 25-19 win over Al Arabi in the Wednesday’s semi-finals was as if they added insult to the Qataris’ injury. Sarmayeh Bank had already made their mark by brushing off Al Arabi 3-1 in the final clash to capture their maiden victory and 11th title for Iran.

In the showdown, Sarmayeh Bank will battle it out with Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza, the team they had already beaten in straight sets in the playoffs at the round of the last eight teams.

After the match, Sarmayeh Bank’s head coach Mostafa Karkhaneh commented, “Today we did our best to advance to the final round.This game against Al Arabi was very important for us. Before the match, we studied their video throughly to make our game plan. And our strategy caused them difficulties.