By Yash Mudgal/Doha

Qualifiers Police stunned former champions Al Arabi 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 26-24) to enter the final of the Emir Cup Volleyball Tournament here at the Al Arabi indoor hall yesterday evening. In the final, they will take on Al Rayyan who defeated Al Ahli 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22).

With much at stake it was only natural for Al Arabi and Police to be tentative at the start. The ploy employed by both was to hold their rivals on a tight leash before working for a breakthrough.

Consequently the lead also changed freely in the initial stages of the first set before Police grew in confidence and pressed the accelerator. This was dictated by at least two factors.

The first was an improved display in the defence especially in the backcourt. Libero John Nito was simply outstanding in picking up the rebounds and stopping the thunderous smashes that emanated from the other end.

The superb show of Nito was helpful in lifting the overall game of the Police, and with Akrem and Nimak Martin too getting into the act, the supremacy of the crowd favourites was complete.

The second factor was the effectiveness with which they often stopped the rival attack with blocks. Alberto and John Chigbo stood out in the company of the Abubacker, who again was a source of strength with his superb finishes, taking care of the moves initiated by Arabi’s playmaker Saeed Juma and Ibrahim.

The policemen were simply superb throughout the match. Though their performance dipped in the second, they came back strongly in the third and fourth sets and won the match in an hour and 35 minutes.

After losing first set, Arabi regrouped themselves and were hardly challenged in the second. The hosts gave their rivals no room before finishing the set 25-19 in 23 minutes. Much of this was due to some superb smashes by Leandro, the mainstay for hosts through all their previous matches. The third set again saw a see-saw battle, before Police won it 25-23.

After leading by two sets to one, Police began the fourth again on a right note as they went ahead 3-1. Thanks to Khalifa’s blocks and effective smashes by Akrem, Police stormed back. It was neck and neck till 23-23 before solid blocks by police defenders and some timely intervention by Ali Omer at the net, Police finished the contest in style, with Akrem smashing a winner.

“It is a proud moment for us. We came into the tournament as qualifiers and now have defeated Arabi, a former champion side to enter the final of the Emir Cup. It’s fantastic,” said elated Police coach Selim Bouhala.

“We have worked really hard for this moment. It executed our plans well to reach here. We have only won the Federation Cup until now, but now we have confidence of a good show in the final also,” he said.

Disappointed Al Arabi coach Maaouia Lajnef said: “It was not our day today. I think we were poor in reception and our counter attacks were also not up to the mark.”

In the second semi-final, Rayyan opened up in brilliant fashion and seemed to do no wrong. With the combine of Ali Ahmed and Sanchez at the net baulking the rival attack effortlessly and Soliman Saed controlling the backcourt effectively, they enjoyed complete supremacy jumping ahead into an early lead and then holding it continuously to take the set 25-22 in 25 minutes. However, into the second, there was a sea change in their fortunes as Ahli’s Mohamed Bishri brought order at the net and Hernandez took the fight to the rival camp. Rayyan were caught on the back foot and with the side committing far too many errors, Ahli was able to win it.

The third set was a repeat of the second in many ways. The scores were close or tied in the initial stages and into the mid-phase before Rayyan surged ahead brilliantly and won it in 20 minutes. In the fourth set the defending champions held on valiantly and sailed through the final. The final will be played tomorrow.