11th Junior
Men African Nations Championship- Day three
Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Kenya to semis
Nairobi,
Kenya, September 18-: DEFENDING champions Egypt needed only 61
minutes to destroy Botswana 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-18) sets in
Group ‘B’ and reach the semi finals of 11th African Nations
Championships Junior Men Volleyball Tournament at Moi
International indoor gymnasium in Kasarani yesterday.
Apart from Egypt who will now face off with Morocco in the first
semi finals tomorrow, in another Group ‘B’ match , Tunisia also
registered an impressive win when they trounced the hard
fighting Uganda 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-19) sets to set a semi
finals date with hosts Kenya who did not have a match.
In the only Group ‘A’ match played yesterday, Morocco who have
distinguished themselves as among the title favorites ensured
that Sudan bowed out of the tournament without a win when they
hit the Sudanese 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-18) sets.
Egypt secured a semi-final berth
PLAYING like a wounded lion, defending champions Egypt
outclassed Botswana in all departments to register a well
deserved victory which saw the North Africans lead the rush to
the semi finals of this year’s event.
Egypt went for the kill from the word go with Abdel Fattah and
El Belbeisy Mostafa tormenting Botswana with powerful spikes
which the South Africans could not block but only watch in
disbelief as the balls landed inside the court like rockets.
Much as Jaba Reabetwe, Kurwana Agisanang and Sekalaba Kaikitse
fought bravely for Botswana, their efforts could not stop the
well drilled Egyptians who went ahead to clinch the first set
25-18.
There was no stopping the Egyptians in the second set which they
clinched with ease winning 25-12 after leading all the way
Thakil Elnosseong proving to be a live wire to the Botswana
defenders as he bagged in points from all angles to the delight
of the spectators.
In the third set, Botswana came back a transformed side which
saw them threaten Egypt in the opening stages but the defending
champions almost immediately picked up went on to seal the third
and last set 25-18.
Egypt who started the championships on a sad not after losing
0-3 to Tunisia recovered in their second match to beat Uganda
3-0. Following their victory over Botswana yesterday in which
they finished second to Tunisia in Group ‘B’, Egypt will now
face Morocco in the first semi final match.
Tunisia had the third victory in raw
TUNISIA maintained their unbeaten record when they registered
their third win with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-19) sets victory
over Uganda in a Group ‘B’ match yesterday.
Following their win yesterday, Tunisia topped Group ‘B’ with
unbeaten record and they will now square it out with hosts Kenya
in the second semi final match which the North Africans start as
favourites.
In their match against Uganda, Tunisia coach Trabelsi Mohammed
instructed his boys to take things easy but they still had no
difficulty clinching the first set 25-12 as Uganda struggled to
match they well drilled opponents.
The second set still belong to Tunisia as they led from the
start to finish winning 25-17 and they went on to confirm their
semi final berth when they clinched the third and last set 25-19
with Uganda’s coach Tom Mutebi conceding defeat on grounds that
this was their first time they had participated in a continental
tournament.
Morocco top of the pool
TITLE favourites Morocco were given a big scare by Sudan but
they managed to compose themselves and win 3-0 (25-21, 25-22,
25-19) sets in a thrilling Group ‘A’ match.
The Moroccan players who used their height advantage and
experience to beat their Sudan opponents relied heavily on
Zakaria Bairi, Ismail Ouchadi and Idriss Cheryqi to clinch the
opening set 25-21.
It was the same story in the second set as Sudan struggled to
match their opponents but Morocco who were strong in blocking
and receiving gave their opponents no room as they went on to
register a 25-22 victory in the second set.
The third set was a neck and neck race between players from both
sides but once again experience and technical superiority saw
Morocco win 25-19 to seal Sudan’s fate in this year’s
Championships.
Following the completion of the first round matches, Uganda,
Botswana and Sudan has bid the tournament bye while defending
champions Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and hosts Kenya have qualified
for the semi finals with the two finalists earning tickets to
represent Africa at next year’s World Junior Men Championships
set for India.
Semi finals: Morocco vs Egypt and Tunisia vs Kenya. Finals will
take place on Sunday.
CGI
