Information courtesy of FIVB.com
• Foolad Sirjan Iranian triumph as men’s champions of Iran for the second time
• Nearly 10 thousand fans witness Suntory Sunbirds Osaka collect their 10th men’s title in Japan
• Taraz celebrate club’s second men’s crown in Kazakhstan
• Suwon Hyundai E&C Hillstate and Incheon Korean Air Jumbos snatch titles in Korea
The domestic club volleyball seasons are coming to an end and important national trophies are being presented to their winners. Within the eight days between Sunday, 31 March, and Sunday, 7 April, four teams in Asia celebrated as national champions of their countries – Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan and Korea.
IRAN
Foolad Sirjan Iranian won their second men’s title in Iran after winning both games of their best-of-three championship series against defending champions Shahdab Yazd in tie-breaker sets. Both matches were played at the Azadi Hall in Tehran. On Thursday, Foolad Sirjan produced a narrow 3-2 (26-24, 25-21, 29-25, 21-25, 16-14) victory and followed up with another hard-fought 3-2 (18-25, 30-28, 25-15, 22-25, 15-12) win on Saturday. In March’s semi-final playoffs, Foolad Sirjan knocked out Paykan Tehran in a 2-0 final score, while Shahdab were pushed to a third-game decider before overcoming Shahrdari Urmia.
Foolad Sirjan’s 36-year-old star middle blocker Seyed Mohammad Mousavi (pictured in the main photo; credits: Sara Saadat / volleyball.ir) was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league and earned a spot on the Dream Team. He was named setter Mohammad Taher Vadi (Foolad), opposite Reza Rezaei (Shahdab), outside hitters Shahrouz Homayunfarmanesh (Foolad) and Poorya Hossein Khanzadeh (Foolad), middle blocker Masoud Gholami (Shahdab) and libero Mohammad Reza Hazratpour (Shahdab). Iran’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kioumars Hashemi and Volleyball Federation Islamic Republic of Iran President Milad Taghavi headlined the awarding ceremony.
JAPAN
The Japanese men’s V-League final was played on the last day of March in front of nearly 10 thousand fans at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. A V-League record-breaking 9,544 spectators witnessed the match. After an epic second set, Suntory Sunbirds Osaka managed to close the game against Panasonic Panthers Hirakata in straight sets, 3-0 (25-18, 37-35, 25-19), and celebrate their 10th championship title. A day earlier, Toray Arrows Mishima claimed the bronze after a 3-2 (17-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13) victory over JT Thunders…
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