KK Boys, St Cruz, won the semifinal and final in straight sets at Merces
Panaji: Till the semifinals of the All Goa volleyball tournament with three outstation players, all games in the group stage were competitive, ending in four sets.In the knockout stage, KK Boys showed their true colours. Spearheaded by the talismanic Ashwal Rai, the team from Santa Cruz first swept aside the challenge of favourites Detailz Doctor in straight sets and did even better in the final as they demolished Sarvan Bicholim 25-19, 27-25, 25-22 at the Modi ground, Merces, late on Saturday.The tournament drew big crowd as fans waited till early hours of the morning to see the India stars in action.Ashwal, no doubt, was the biggest attraction. He could make the trip to Goa only after not being considered for the national team camp in Gandhinagar. The reason? It’s not form; the star spiker missed the National championships since he wanted international exposure for himself and starred in the Mongolian Premier League.
The selectors, quite weirdly, left him out, along with Jerome Vinith, who also played in Mongolia and won the league with Tuv Mig VC.While his India teammates were training in Gujarat for the AVC Cup, it was business as usual for Ashwal in Merces. In the final, he took time to get into the groove, winning only six points in the first set. But in the second he had 10 winners and a massive 14 in the third set when KK Boys wrapped up the match.
He could not have won it alone. There was Visakh too. The spiker came up with crucial points, particularly in the second set when KK Boys cut a seven-point deficit, thanks largely to his powerful serves.Tamil Nadu setter Nanjil Surya, who has represented Indian Universities, was tricky as usual, while the local boys – Nitin Sawant, Hemant Naik and the popular Ashwek Gawade – played their role to perfection.After losing the first set, Sarvan took a big seven-point lead in the second at 14-7 but somehow lost their way.
Once the set had slipped out of their hands, there was no way back, even for a side that had Prime Volleyball League (PVL) stars Shubham Chaudhary and Sahil Kanwal.The All Goa volleyball tournament was organised by Almeida Brothers and Pogo Boys Merces in memory of Vicente Almeida and Bonifacio Almeida.Individual prizes: Best setter: Rahul Chokla (Sarvan), best smasher of the final: Ashwek Gawade (KK Boys), best defender: Yatish Moraskar (KK Boys), Man-of-the-Match: Nanjil Surya (KK Boys), player of the tournament: Ashwal Rai (KK Boys), crowd favourite: Nitin Sawant (KK Boys).
