Ninh Binh to host 2017 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship

Hosts Vietnam, Iraq's Al-Bahri and Sri Lanka Ports Authority Sports Club are in Pool A, while Pool B comprises defending champions Sarmayeh Bank of Iran and Taiwan Power from Chinese Taipei. Pool C consists of Qatar's Al Arabi Sports Club, Kazakhstan's Altay VC, Hong Kong's Yan Chai and Canberra Heat of Australia, with Japan's Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza, China Beijing Baic Motor from China, Maldivian Sport &Recreation Club from Maldives and Thailand's Air Force VC in Pool D.

The pool preliminaries will take place in both venues from June 28 to July 30. July 1 will be the rest day, while the intense competition in the quarter-finals will resume on July 2 and run through July 6.

Only top two teams from each pool in the preliminary round will advance to the quarter-finals in Pool E and Pool F, with teams finishing third and fourth from each pool in the preliminaries relegated to the 9th-13th classification round.

The top-flight tournament will kick off on June 28 with all participating teams joining the opening ceremony at 19:30 pm local time, followed by the curtain-raisers between hosts Vietnam and Iraq's Al-Bahri at 20:00 pm. The other matches on the opening day see Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza from Japan take on Thailand's Air Force VC, Altay VC of Kazakhstan play Hong Kong's Yan Chai, Qatar's Al Arabi Sports Club pitted against Australia's Canberra Heat and China Beijing Baic Motor meet Maldivian Sport & Recreation Club.

The final showdown including the awards presentation and closing ceremony will be held on July 6. The eventual winners of this prestigious tournament will represent Asia at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship, with the host nation yet to be revealed.

Since the AVC got the tournament off the ground in Hefei, China in 1999, Iran have emerged as the most successful nation with their club teams capturing 11 titles altogether, followed by Korea with two titles. Qatar, Kazakhstan, China and Chinese Taipei took one title apiece.

At the previous edition in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar last year, Samayeh Bank Club handed Iran their 11th title following a hard-fought 3-1 win over Al Arabi of Qatar in the final clash. Japan's Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza finished third place after edging past Shanghai Golden Age of China in an exhausting five-set thriller.

(Translated by Nguyen Thuy)