Rebisco skidded to its third straight loss in the 2021 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship after bowing to Qatar’s Al-Arabi on Sunday, October 10, at Terminal 21 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Veteran squad Al-Arabi swept the Philippine side with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-19 decision even as the Filipinos came out fighting behind Jao Umandal.

Felipe Bandero dropped 21 points to lead the powerhouse Al-Arabi, a multi-titled club team in Qatar, to its second straight win.

Umandal fueled Rebisco anew with 17 points, while JP Bugaoan (7 points) and John Vic De Guzman (5 points) also chipped in.

Still winless in the preliminary round, Rebisco drops out of title contention, but it can still aim for a fourth-place finish in Pool B that will send it to the classification round for fifth to eighth place.

Rebisco will try to pull it off by closing the preliminary round with a win over Thailand’s Diamond Food on Monday, October 11, 4:30 pm, Manila time.

A loss to the Thais, however, will relegate the Filipinos to a classification match for ninth and 10th place.

Rebisco started out strong by keeping up with the 2012 tournament champions, who were coming off a straight-set conquest of Diamond Food.

But service errors marred Rebisco’s opening-set performance and gifted Al-Arabi the momentum when it pulled away to a six-point lead, 19-13.

Though Rebisco benefited from the Qataris’ errors to gain six more points, the Bandero-led Al-Arabi closed it out quickly for a 1-0 advantage.

Rebisco showed signs of life with mini runs early in the second set and emerged on top of Al-Arabi, 9-8, following a victory over a challenge for a block touch.

But the Filipinos failed to sustain the momentum as Al-Arabi answered back with a 9-3 run and closed out the second set with a 5-0 spurt with Bandero at the service line.

After Rebisco’s defense absorbed a beating with 5 aces from Al-Arabi in the second set, it continued to trail the Qataris, who brought it to an early eight point lead, 15-8, in the third.

Umandal tried to lead Rebisco’s attack but the taller and more experienced club cruised to seal the win over the Filipinos. – Rappler.com