AVC Men’s Champions League:
Foolad routs Garuda Jaya to progress to last four
Iran’s Foolad Sirjan advanced to the AVC Men’s Champions League semifinals in emphatic fashion, hammering Jakarta Garuda Jaya 3–0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-12) in Pontianak, Indonesia, on Thursday.
Pouria Hosseinkhanzadeh contributed a game-high 19 points, including six aces, while Bulgarian outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov — who joined the club on a short-term contract for the showpiece — added 13 for former Iran coach Behrouz Ataei’s side.
Dawuda Alahimassalam topped the scoring for the Indonesian outfit with 12 points.
Chasing a third title in six editions, the Iranian top-flight champion will take on JTEKT Stings Aichi of Japan in today’s last-four showdown at the Terpadu Gymnasium.
French opposite Stephen Boyer contributed 20 points, with American outside hitter Torey DeFalco (13) and Brazilian star Ricardo Lucarelli (11) also finishing in double figures, as the star-studded Aichi defeated Thailand’s Men Korat in straight sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-18) earlier on Thursday.
Foolad will be looking to make amends for last year’s setbacks against Japanese opposition, after Ataei’s men fell to a four-set defeat against Osaka Bluteon in the semifinals in Kyoto, and then were beaten by Suntory Sunbirds Osaka in three sets to miss out on the bronze medal.
Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi and South Korea’s Hyundai Capital Skywalkers will square off in the other semifinal today.
Boosted by the world-class additions of Slovenia’s Rok Mozic, Cuba’s Robertlandy Simon, and Mali’s Noumory Keita, Bhayangkara Presisi defeated Kazakhstan’s Zhaiyk 3–1 (25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 25-21) to advance.
Keita stole the show with 28 points, while Mozic and Simon added 15 and 11 points, respectively. Iranian outside hitter Amirhossein Esfandiar delivered a 19-point performance but could not keep the Kazakh champions from crashing out.
The Skywalkers, meanwhile, stunned Al Rayyan of Qatar 3–1 (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21) in the other quarterfinal clash on Wednesday.
South Korean international Heo Soo-bong spearheaded the Skywalkers’ scoring with 16 points, followed by Chinese opposite Chuan Jiang (15) and Hong Dongseon (14).
Egyptian outside hitter Abdelrahman Ahmed Azab had 22 points to his name, while Russia’s Ivan Polianskii and Maksim Bahatka had 13 and 12, respectively, though their contributions proved not enough as Al Rayyan suffered an early exit in its bid for a second successive continental crown.
The winner of the tournament will earn a spot at the FIVB Club World Championship later this year.
Foolad made it to the last four at the global showpiece in 2024, before ultimately settling for bronze thanks to a victory over Volley Lube in the third-place playoff in Uberlândia, Brazil.