DUBAI: Al Hilal and Fohood Zabeel secured identical 3-1 wins against Al Samawi and Al Tadawi 2 on the second night of Group 2 of the volleyball championships at the ongoing 12th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament.

Launched and sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, this annual tournament is held during the holy month of Ramadan at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, under the slogan ‘Limitless Capabilities’.

Al Hilal won 26-24, 25-20, 25-27 and 25-16, while Fohood Zabeel went on to win 29-27, 25-27, 25-20 and 25-21 and start their respective campaigns on a winning note.

The first match between Al Hilal and Al Samawi started off as a close affair with the opening set was closely contested between the two sides. But, Al Hilal managed to maintain the edge as they sneaked ahead 26-24 for the lead.

In the second set, Al Hilal pressed home their advantage with the game’s highest scorer and man of the match Dusan Petkovic – who topscored with 22 points – teaming up well with Danny Demyanenko and Michele Fedrizzi to win the set 25-20.

However, Al Samawi came roaring back with top scorer Anton (19) combining well with Egor Bogachev (16) and Nicolas Mendez (15) to pull one back 27-25 and pile on the pressure on Al Hilal.

However, any semblance of a fight was snuffed out with Al Hilal’s man of the match Petkovic in full flow to win the fourth set rather easily 25-16 to start their campaign on a winning note.

In the second match, the star of the show was man of the match Mikita Kanavalau and his high score of 22 points as Fohood Zabeel too opened with a 3-1 victory over Al Tadawi 2.

Stanislau Kulahin and Ivan Kozitsyn were stand out performers for Fohood Zabeel as they ran away with the opening set, 29-27. Their efforts to continue their good work at the net in the second backfired as Al Tadawi 2 won 27-25 and draw level.

But, being the seasoned veterans that they are, the Fohood Zabeel players wrapped up the next two sets, 25-20 and 25-21 to also open their campaign on a winning note.

This year too the volleyball tournament has brought in some elite players from the most famous international clubs, giving an international feel to the volleyball competition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament.