Cuban spiker leads F3 to double up in NAS Volleyball Final

Sport360 staff 19:56 23/05/2018
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  • F3 and F3 'A' will meet in the NAS Volleyball Final

    Dominant through the group stages, F3 ‘A’ were in sizzling form on Tuesday night as they defeated Spinneys in a thrilling semis to book a title-clash against their stablemates, F3, in the 6th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament Volleyball Championship.

    Led by their irrepressible young Cuban wing-spiker Yosvany Hernandez, 26, F3 ‘A’ took a close opening set 25-23, but Spinneys fought back to level the scores by taking the second 29-27.

    Stung by that reversal, F3 ‘A’ shifted gears and brooked no resistance in the following two sets, winning 25-14, 25-14 to the delight of their boisterous band of supporters.

    In the second semi-final, defending champions Surprise, who have struggled with their rhythm in the earlier two matches, looked jaded against their well-drilled opponents, and F3, with their Bahraini libero Mohammed Yaqoub in scorching form, romped to a 25-18, 25-19, 25-22 win to book their place in Thursday’s final.

    The two F3 teams had great support from the stands and Hernandez was happy they did not disappoint the fans.

    F3 get on top

    F3 get on top

    “It was a great atmosphere tonight and we are happy we could win this one for the fans,” said Hernandez. “We were expecting a tough fight from Spinneys and they did turn up with their A game, but thanks to the spirit of our team and the support from the fans, we have reached the final.

    “That’s going to be another tough match. There is no point making any predictions – we will just go out there and give our best once again and hopefully that will be good enough.”

    Sheikha Shamsa Bint Hasher Al-Maktoum, a board member of UAE Volleyball Federation, was in the stands as well and she was pleased with the quality of the matches and enjoyed the atmosphere on the night.

    “The Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament keeps growing from strength to strength,” she said. “Every year, you come back here and you see that every team has strengthened their ranks, picking the best Emirati and international players.

    “The teams wait eagerly for the NAS Sports Tournament to start because they love playing in this great atmosphere. The foreign players keep coming back because the tournament enjoys a great reputation. Of course, the prize money is a big incentive as well.”

    Excited fans at the NAS Volleyball Tournament

    Excited fans at the NAS Volleyball Tournament

    3X3 BASKETBALL

    In the NAS 3×3 Basketball Championship, taking place at the Festival City Mall, Big 3 defeated Ball Above All in the men’s final, while Tribe took the Junior Boys’ title, defeating Alaemid.

    Held for the first time, the 3×3 Basketball tournament saw 61 teams, representing 38 different nationalities, take part. There were 28 teams in the men’s competition, 16 in the women’s, 12 in the boy’s and five in the girls.

    “Though this was the first time we organised the 3×3 Basketball Championship, we are really happy with the tournament given the number of teams, of different nationalities, that participated,” said Adel Al Bannai, the Chairman of the tournament’s Technical Committee. “We also saw a lot of fans coming to watch the games.

    “This 3×3 version of basketball is an ideal community sport and it was open to everyone. That is why we saw a number of retired players come back to take part.”

    Action from the 3x3 Basketball tournament

    Action from the 3×3 Basketball tournament

    Organised by Dubai Sports Council (DSC) under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, the 2018 NAS Sports Tournament will see more than 5,000 athletes compete for a total prize-purse of Dh6 million in Dubai, across 11 competitions.

    The tournament has also gone international this year with a five-a-side futsal competition taking place in the Egyptian capital Cairo and an eight-team volleyball tournament being held in Amman, Jordan.

    RESULTS

    Junior Girls: 1-GEMS, 2-Rim Rockers, 3-Jam Warriors

    Juniors Boys: 1-Tribe; 2-Alaemid; 3-Istilb

    Women: 1-Al Nasr, 2-Sharjah Ladies Club; 3-Al Sharqiyah

    Men: 1-Big 3; 2-Ball Above All, 3-UOS

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