Innovate stun Sky Dive; Surprise sink Quattro

Surprise broke away with a flurry of splendid flat passes and jabs at the net before registering a thrilling first set win.

Fancied Sky Dive Dubai went down to Innovate (above in darker shorts) 16-25, 19-25, 21-25. — Supplied photo

Dubai — The second day of the volleyball competition preliminary group phase saw Innovate and Surprise Centre clinch two points each at the 3rd Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament at the NAS Sports Complex, late on Monday. Fancied Sky Dive Dubai with the big-hitting Mohammad Adil Asatti of Syria in their impressive lineup went down to Innovate 16-25, 19-25, 21-25 and in the second fixture, Surprise beat Quattro Centre 30-28, 16-25, 29-27, 25-17 for opening victories in their campaign this season.

Innovate combined beautifully throughout to outsmart Sky Dive Dubai though Sky Dive slowly began to follow a pattern with great receiving and quick passing. Asatti was in full flow at the net with his deeply angled spikes and also when his blocks numbed the Innovate raids. Sky Dive led 9-5 and 12-7 in the third set but Bahrain import and national team universal Nasser Mansoor assisted in Innovate’s recovery plans as his side levelled at 14-14. They jumped into the lead (17-14) to seal their overall superiority thereafter.

Surprise broke away with a flurry of splendid flat passes and jabs at the net before registering a thrilling first set win. Quattro Centre bounced back for set two but found Surprise clinching the third set. Import Saleh Yousuf’s telling spikes during the late stages finally told on the Quattro defences and deep digging reserves.

In the men’s paddle tennis doubles, Alexander Farquharson and Javier Lopez Garcia cruised to their second straight win. They opened the account on Sunday night with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Guillermo Villafane and Jordi Hernandez, and on Monday, brushed aside Eisa Sharif and Mohammed Al Janahi 6-2, 6-0. Another pair to taste sweet success for the second day running was Emilio Misas and Pedro Rios who accounted for Juan De Dios and Raul Cuesta 6-0, 6-3.

Also in Sunday’s event opening day action, Abdullah Al Maktoum beat The Pretenders 2-0 with their two pairs winning 6-3, 7-6 and 6-2, 6-4 while on the second day, the Valencia Team romped past ZATA Team 2-0 with their pairings literally catwalking home after 6-0, 6-3 and 6-0, 6-1 victories. Paddle tennis continues till July 9. The event is sponsored by Emaar Properties and is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC).