Dubai: The Surprise team maintained their unbeaten run with a second successive win, while Al Hazem upset fancied Fohood Zabeel on the third night of the Fifth Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament at the Nas Sports Complex late on Tuesday.
Stretched by Al Hazem in their opening match on Sunday, the Surprise team once again had their Cuban player Leonardo Levya Martinez as the standout performer as they beat Spider Team in straight sets 25-13, 25-21 and 25-23. Martinez, who was rightly awarded the man of the match honours by tournament director Hassan Al Mazroui, was pleased with a second win, but reckoned that tougher battles lay ahead.
The Surprise team had fought well to open with a narrow 3-2 win over Al Hazem on Sunday. And they were in no mood to play another long match as they hurried through the points with Martinez and fellow Cuban receiver Oreol Camejo Durruthy proving their worth in the middle of the court.
“The next match against Fohood Zabeel will test us to the maximum. It will be like a final in itself for sure as both our teams look evenly balanced this time,” the lanky Cuban told Gulf News.
The two teams will meet on Thursday night with the winner going to the top of Group A. “The idea is to top the group and go all the way to win the title,” the 27-year-old former Cuban national team player said.
“But before that we need to work on a few things internally within the organisation of our team. Once that happens we will be perhaps one of the toughest teams to beat,” he added.
“We missed out on the title last year when we lost in the semi-finals. But this year the goal is to win,” he stressed.
In the second match of the night, it was Al Hazem showing a lot of character and throwing the fight for the second semi-final spot wide open with a 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 17-15) upset over fancied Fohood Zabeel. Al Hazem, who had stretched group leaders Surprise Team on Sunday, surrendered 25-20 in the opening set, but made a comeback while winning 25-16 and 25-23 in the second and third.
However, with the Brazilian duo of Caio Fabio Alves and Vinicius Alessandro Santos combining well with captain Khalid Ahmad Ebrahim Hamza, Fahood Zabeel won the fourth set 25-20 to enter into the fifth and deciding set. Things were close throughout in the final set till the lanky Carlos Roberto Kas sent a spike to the back of the court to hand Al Hazem a sensational win.
Meanwhile, the padel competition for Emiratis opened with young Abdul Rahman Al Marzouqi teaming up with his older brother Ahmad for a hard-fought 7-6 (2), 6-3 win over Hamad Bu Samnoh and Jalal Esmail. This was the first-ever competition win for the brothers, having fallen in their debut in last year’s competition in the very first round.
“This win definitely gives us a lot of confidence,” Ahmad Al Marzouqi said.
“Our goal this time will be to at least make it to the semi-finals so that we can be genuine contenders at least for the third spot,” the 15-year-old added.
Sandy Farquharson and Javier Lopez stayed on track for a third straight crown after registering a second straight win in the open category. Farquharson and Lopez were simply too strong as they eased past Ignacio Valenzuela and Juan De Dios 6-0, 6-2.
In the competition for teams, Rackets Academy side-stepped PGP Group 2-0 to advance into the next round against Valencia. Gildo Andrea Ciccopiedi and Marco Palau defeated Alan Douglas and George Green to give Rackets Academy a 1-0 lead, while Francisco Carillo teamed up with Innocent Chimanze to defeat Gabriela Martinas and Khalid Khaldoon Al Atiyat 6-1, 6-1.
RESULTS
(Volleyball) The Surprise def. Spider Team 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-23); Al Hazem def. Fohood Zabeel 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 17-15).
(Padel Open) Sandy Farquharson/Javier Lopez def. Ignacio Valenzuela/Juan De Dios 6-0, 6-2. (Padel Teams) Rackets Academy def. PGP Group 2-0 (6-2, 6-3 and 6-1, 6-1). (Padel UAE Nationals) Abdul Rahman Al Marzouqi/Ahmad Al Marzouqi def. Hamad Bu Samnoh/Jalal Esmail 7-6 (2), 6-3.
