AVC Men’s Champions League:
Foolad crushes JTEKT Stings to advance to final, secures world spot
Iran’s Foolad Sirjan progressed to the final showpiece of the AVC Men’s Champions League in emphatic fashion, routing JTEKT Stings Aichi of Japan in straight sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-20) in Pontianak, Indonesia, on Saturday.
Iranian outside hitter Pouria Hosseinkhanzadeh picked up where he left off in Thursday’s 3-0 win against Indonesian outfit Jakarta Garuda Jaya, chipping in a joint game-high 16 points – alongside international opposite teammate Ali Hajipour.
Bulgarian world-class outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov – who joined the club on a short-term contract for the showpiece – added 14 for Foolad, which remained on course for a third title in six editions. Middle blocker Amirhossein Toukhteh also played his part in the massive win with an eight-point performance.
The victory also saw the Iranian top-flight champion make amends for last year’s setbacks against Japanese opposition, after former Iran coach Behrouz Ataei’s men had fallen 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.
French opposite Stephen Boyer topped the scoring chart for JTEKT with 15 points, while Brazilian star Ricardo Lucarelli was thoroughly kept at bay, limited to eight points. Japanese international middle blocker Kentaro Takahashi and American outside hitter Torey DeFalco, meanwhile, contributed seven points apiece for the Japanese club.
Saturday’s triumph meant Foolad will be part of the draw at the FIVB Club World Championship later this year, returning to the competition after a bronze-winning campaign at the 2024 edition in Uberlândia, Brazil, where the Iranian club defeated Italian powerhouse Volley Lube in a five-set thriller in the third-place playoff.
Standing between Foolad and the Asian title in today’s showdown at the Terpadu Gymnasium are either Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi or South Korea’s Hyundai Capital Skywalkers.