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2007 Men's African Nations
Championship: |
News
Teams
Results
Standings
Photos
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Egypt victory in the eyes of
South African Press
 Those
who wrote off Egypt after they were (2-0) down (15-25; 25-27)
and staring at defeat against arch rivals, Tunisia in the final
of the 16th African Nations Cup for men played at the University
of Kwa Zulu Natal’s Westville Campus Sports Centre in Durban,
South Africa, over the weekend were made to eat their words as
the Egyptians bounced back to win the breath taking encounter
with a hard fought 3 sets to 2.
Unfazed by the 2-0 deficit and sticking to their game plan, the
defending champions started the crucial 3rd set with guns
blazing. The architect of “Operation Fight –Back” for Egypt was
their mercurial playmaker, Abdalla Ahmed whose magical fingers
became the launching pad for his attack force. Africa’s number
one attacker, Ahmed Saleh stepped up to lead the ‘blitz-krieg’
against Tunisia who immediately made hurried changes to their
game plan in an attempt to douse the Egyptian flame.
By Donovan Nair, In Durban,
South Africa |
Final
Egypt won the second
consecutive victory and clinched the World Cup Berth
 Durban, South Africa, September 23-: Egypt Men's Volleyball team
added a new achievement to their big victories in the last few
years when they survived from two sets behind to achieve a 3-2
victory over Tunisia in the final of the sixteenth Men's African
Nations Championship held t Durban, South Africa on Sunday. The
victory secured a 2007 World Cup ticket for the Egyptians in the
competition to be held in Japan next November. It has become the
first time in history for the Egypt to keep the title under
their belt for two successive times defeating the team that has
the record of victories at the continental level to win their
fifth trophy in history of this competition. |
Semifinal
Egypt and
Tunisia in a classic final
 Durban,
South Africa, September 22-: Relegating their defeat in the
final round robin match against arch rival, Tunisia to the
background, Nations Cup titleholders, Egypt, bounced back by
effortlessly brushing aside Cameroon in straight sets (25-22;
25-22; 25-18) in their semi- final clash of the African Nations
Cup played at the UKZN Westville Campus Sports Centre on Friday.
Tunisia defeated the organizers South Africa in the other
semifinal.
When the left handed power hitter, Ahmed Abd Ebrahim fired the
first salvo off Abdalla Ahmed’s well disguised reverse sets, the
Cameroonians quickly realised that they had a fierce contest on
their hands.
Cameroonian setters, Robert Samou and skipper, Hadj el Abbas
stepped up to meet the challenge. With solid blocking from the
Egyptians, Cameroon had to resort to creative ways and means of
wearing the blockers down. Quicker and more explosive play
became the order of the day, much to the delight of the fans. |
Day 4
Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon and
South Africa to semifinal Spot
Durban,
South Africa, September 19-: As the 16th African Nations Cup for
men nears completion at the University of Kwa Zulu Natal’s
Westville Campus Sports Centre in Durban, Cameroon, Egypt,
Tunisia and host nation, South Africa have already booked their
place in the semi-finals as the final surge is made to determine
Africa’s number one men’s volleyball playing nation on the
African continent.
The Tunisia-Botswana clash kick started the day 4 action at the
Sports Centre. Although the North Africans did not really break
a sweat, their experience and technical superiority at this
level of competition assured them an effortless win against the
contenders from Zone 6. Botswana’s straight sets drubbing
(25-12; 25-14; 25-11) dashed their hopes of sneaking into the
higher echelons of the competition. |
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Day Three
South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt and
Cameroon near to semifinal spot Durban,
South Africa, September 19, 2007-: All the big forces including
the organizers South Africa, the defending champions Egypt, the
last competition runner up Tunisia and The big contenders
Cameroon achieved thriller victories over Rwanda Botswana, Kenya
and Mozambique respectively in the third day of the sixteenth
Men’s African Nations Championship here at Durban, South Africa.
The organizers secured their first ever semifinal ticket in this
competition which will qualify the winner to the 2007 World Cup
in JapanTunisia v KenyaNot even the presence of master blaster,
Philip
Maiyo who is a constantthorn in the side of any team that he
faces could stop the Tunisians fromregistering a straight sets
win (25-20;25-22; 25-19).Tunisian skipper and mercurial
playmaker, the left handed Guidara Ghazikept the pressure on the
Kenyans by his expert delivery of quality setsthat allowed his
attackers put points on the board. Even when the
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South
Africa eyes on Semi final spot
Durban, South Africa, September 17-:
South Africa’s Egyptian born head coach, Hamid El Wassimy
was beaming with confidence after his team demolished
Mozambique in straight sets (25-16; 25-17; 25-14) in a Group
A encounter of the African Nations Cup at the University of
Kwa Zulu Natal’s Westville Campus Sports Centre. However,
one would expect that a team that had five (5) changes in
the week before the championship would have struggled to
maintain their shape and form. Experienced campaigner in the
international arena, Gershon Rorich, SA team’s new captain,
proved the critics wrong and led his team to a convincing
win to advance closer to the knock out stage of the African
continental showpiece. A win against Central African rivals,
Rwanda will assure Wassimy’s men a place in the semi-finals.
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First Victory for
the Organizers and
Defending Champions
Durban, South
Africa, September
16, 2007-: The
defending Champions
Egypt, the
organizers South
Africa and the big
contenders for the
title Kenya made a
successful input in
first day of the
sixteen African
Nations Championship
as they all achieved
their first victory
in the opening day
here at the
University of Kwa
Zulu Natal’s
Westville Campus
Sports Centre in
Durban, South Africa
on Sunday. Egypt
started their way
easily defeating
Zimbabwe in straight
sets and the same
for the hoist team
who set a similar
victory over
Mozambique, while
Kenya won Botswana
in the most exciting
match of the opening
day.
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9 teams compete for a World
Cup berth
Durban,
South Africa, September 16, 2007-: Nine African Men teams will
start the competition on sixteenth African Nations Championship
known to start at Durban, South Africa on Sunday for the African
crown in the most prestigious CAVB competition and also for the
lone African Berth at the 2007 World Cup in Japan next November
which will be secured by the winners of the cup.
All the continental big forces will compete at Tongate Hall in
Durban seeking both goals including the defending Champions
Egypt who represented Africa in the last World Cup in Japan
2003, the 2005 Grand Champions cup and the 2006 World
Championship in Japan. Egypt will seek their fifth title in the
history of this competition.
With their well organized preparation programme the last
competition runner up Tunisia will be a great contenders for the
trophy with a mixture of the experienced players led by the
efficient setter Ghazi Guidara and the new blood injected by the
Italian Head coach Antonio Jacobe like Ayman Ben Brick and
Hesham Kaabi. Tunisia carries the African record of the number
of victories with 8 trophies under their belt.
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