KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Boushahri Group and Maki scored similar victories in their semifinals on Friday to cruise into the finals — which will be played on a best of 3 format — of the 4th Filipino Men’s Volleyball League (FMVL) at the Bayan Bilingual School in Jabriya.
Boushahri Group proved that they are one of the best contenders for the title when they overpowered defending champions Angel Eyes in 2 sets 25-16, 25-22 while Maki were back in form to move on to finals after they outlasted a depleted Rebellious Elfin squad in back to back sets 25-20, 25-20.
While the score line may reflect easy wins, the games were much closer except for the first set between Boushahri Group and Angel Eyes which was a one-sided affair.
Boushahri Group vs Angel Eyes
The first set saw the determined Boushahri Group all warmed up to deliver early back to back solid spikes from Jhomz along with an ace from Wilton while it appeared that Angel Eyes had started on a wrong foot when Oskie produced an outside serve and at the same time the Angel Eyes players were unable to correctly judge the balls coming from the service area a number of times.
Errors did not stop there for Angel Eyes as there were outside spikes from Dennis that handed a handful of points to their rivals followed closely by another spike from one of Boushahri’s premium members Jhomz.
 Angel Eyes, however, were finally able to score when returns from Wilton and Keith resulted in outside balls with Boushahri Group far ahead 8-2 before a technical time-out was called.
Things were not at all looking good at this stage for the defending champions as their rivals were practically running away with the match.
The technical time-out seemed to have done Angel Eyes some good as they gathered the next two points through Dennis and Jhick who had by now started to warm up while from the other side of the bench Jhomz acquired a service error.
 Aeron then blocked Jhick’s spike but it was so powerful that it landed out of the court and it seemed that Angel eyes were finally getting back into the game as Keith seemed to be bursting with tons of power but this power was his undoing as he hit an outside spike.
On the other hand, Boushahri Group had by now started to control the proceedings and got a number of points through a good block from Aeron and JM and another hard dig from Wilton and as the Boushahri Group delivered excellent services they had their opponents making numerous errors.
Angel Eyes continue to slipup and their performance seemed to be lacking as they produced outside spikes from Krizzy and Oskie, along with an early switch which resulted in a 9-point 16-7 lead for Boushahri Group when another technical time-out was called. At this juncture it seemed that it was only a matter of time before the set would be over.
Meanwhile, Angel Eyes were not finished and started their fightback with Oskie driving in two spikes along with solid digs from Jhick and Joven. At the same time the ceiling seemed to favor them because whenever their rivals replied with a hard hit to the ceiling while spikes from Jhomz were over the edge of the courts as JM fell short on his spike.
Boushahri Group, on the other hand, came up with another solid spike and block from Jhomz and over the net witty drops from Aeron as their opponent continued to make mistakes with an outside serve from Ghermie, Jhick while the net stopped a Dennis spike and Krizzy lost his balance and crossed the line.
Meanwhile, Wilton handed Boushahri Group the victory when he fired back to back spikes that caught their opponent unaware with the winning drive from Jerry that Joven failed to receive correctly for Boushahri Group to take the first set 25-16.
In the second set, Angel Eyes tried as hard as they could to push for a deciding set as they collected points through a Dennis spike and a drop shot along with another smack from Krizzy while from the other side of the bench Jhomz, JM and Wilton delivered solid spikes along with another over the net drop from Aeron that made them level 3-3, 6-6 at various points but things had to give soon and it was not surprising when two errors from Angel Eyes swung the lead in Boushahri’s favor 8-6 and a technical time-out was called.
Boushahri Group then made numerous faults although Jerry scored when he drove a spike while one of Angel Eyes finest members Joven also paid back in the same coin followed by an over the net drop as they produced good blocks through Ghermie that saw them swing the lead 11-10 that made Boushahri Group call for a time out.
However, the break seemed to have the opposite effect as it favored Angel Eyes when Dennis received good set plays from Jhick and pulled off two solid spikes while it looked as if their opponent failed to connect that gave them a huge lead of 5 points 16-11.
But Boushahri Group proved that they were not an easy opponent and once again dazzled their rivals with good defense that shook their rivals and the fight back continued until Boushgahri Group had closed the gap to 15-16 when a technical time out was called.
Another error from Angel Eyes put them at the same level 16-16 with Joven and Jhick hitting spikes but a Jhomz spike and a witty drop from JM tsaw the score tied at 19-19.
Boushahri Group managed to advance through Keith’s over the net toss with back to back solid digs from Wilton while their errors handed some points to Angel Eyes but it was not long before Boushahri Group had set themselves in an excellent position as they led 24-22.
Boushahri Group did not have to wait much longer to finish the match and got the winning point which was set up by Jerry just right above the net for Jhomz to hit a deep spike that received no reply from their opponent to win the set 25-22 and with it the match to become the first team to reach the finals. Angel Eyes had fought their hearts out but the thrashing in the first set shook them badly and they never seemed to recover from it.
Wilton from Boushahri Group bagged Best Player of the Game.
Maki vs Rebellious Elfin
The second team to reach the finals of the championship was the strong-willed Maki squad who tamed the depleted Rebellious Elfin team 25-20, 25-20 later that afternoon.
The first set saw Maki score first through a block and then a spike from Jerome, from just above the net set play by Ric that Ella hammered for a spike while Jamil from Rebellious Elfin initiated an outside dig. Meanwhile, a net spike from Ella, an outside serve from Gino and Ric stepping on the line saw both the teams level, first on 3-3 and then on 4-4.
Since both the teams proved that they were here to win and were not an easy prey a block and another drop from Jerome handed another two points for Maki while from the other side of the bench an early switching of one of their players ( which is a foul) and a solid hit from Jerick leveled the points 7-7 while when Ella delivered solid spike that Jamil was not able to control and hit the ceiling to give Maki a lead of one point 8-7 when a technical time out was called.
On the other hand, the break gave enough time for Maki to set-up a game plan to move ahead and deliver back to back solid spikes through Gino, Vester and Ella and an ace from Vester that caught their rivals unawares as Maki went on to establish a 7-point lead 14-7 before Rebellious Elfin realized that they needed to call for a break.
However, it did not help much when some overwhelming energy was displayed by Jay-Jay through a number of outside spikes coupled with their rivals errors resulting in a loss of many points as Maki carried on playing with a lot of enthusiasm and got another smart drop from Gino to lead by 16-9 points.
The Rebellious Elfin squad fought back at one point when Jamil hit a drop shot and there was a block from Jay-Jay along with back to back digs from Lou and Jay-Jay but Gino seemed to misplace his grip and collected service and net spike errors that added number of points to their rivals score.
Meanwhile, one of the FMVL’s outstanding players Ella from Maki used not only his power but also his excellent mental abilities to drive the ball into places where there was no one along with another spike from Jerome when it seemed that their rivals could not find an antidote to draw level with them as Maki took the first set 25-20 to gain the initiative.
On the other hand, the start of the 2nd set saw a service error from Gino who appeared to be exhausted while an overwhelming spike from Jerome gave Rebellious Elfin the first two points as Maki scored through Ric, one of the best setters to have ever played in FMVL , after he drove in a hard spike but the net did not cooperate with Jay-Jay resulting in both the teams being level 2-2 at one point.
Rebellious Elfin put their best foot forward and they seemed to be rewarded when they got points through Jerick’s outstanding serve and another smart drop from Jamil who also fired in an ace while their rivals made various mistakes starting with an outside serve from KC, an outside spike from Jerome while a dig from Ella hit the net .On the other side of the net Maki got some more points when Ric hit an over the net drop shot along with a KC spike but some errors from Lou kept them behind by 3 points 5-8 at one point in the game.
However, it was not very long before Maki regained their form as KC drove in another spike with blocks from Ric and Vester , accompanied by a solid block from the small but terrible Ric when he replied Lou’s hit while Jreick produced an error that saw both the teams on equal footing 9-9.
Maki advanced to 11-9 when their opponentscollected errors after Jeric’s defensive play hit the ceiling and there was an outside spike from Lou resulted 11-9 that kept Maki in control Maki carried on with back to back spikes from KC and another dig from Jerom and although Lou and Jamil managed to get some of the points collective errors came from the other side as Maki opened the gap to 16-11 at one point.
Meanwhile, Rebellious Elfin tried to fight back and decided on a course of action to draw closer with back to back spikes from Jamil, Lou and Jay-Jay while it seemed that Gino was gasping for air and acquired a number of errors but Maki continued to stay ahead and were 19-17 at one point.
Gino from Maki showed a lot of passion for the game saw him pull off another spike along with KC while a service error from Jerick made it easy for Maki to once again to take a 4-point lead 24-20 but the misery soon ended for Rebellious Elfin their own #3 Jeric hit an outside serve that gave the set 25-20 to Maki and with that the match.
Maki’s KC was named Best Player of the Game.
With the result of this week’s matches, the series of final matches will surely generate a lot of interest as both the finalists have shown that they are very determined sides and can take on the best.
Both the Boushahri Group and Maki are based on excellent players and the final will surely be exciting as well as explosive with neither side willing to admit they are second best.
But the outstanding Boushahri Group have an excellent record so far after finishing on top of the standings to reach the semifinals while Maki had finished in third place behind the team they beat this week.
Boushahri Group may be the favorites to take the title, based on their performance so far, Maki will not be in the mood to give anything away and if this week’s games are any indication of the things to come, no one can really predict who will take the crown.
BAP Commissioner Demos Arienda has announced that match for the 2nd runners-up spot between Angel Eyes and Rebellious Elfin has been scheduled for Friday, March 19 in the same arena at 1500 hours.
FBL, FMVL and FWVL Organizers would like to thank their sponsor, Caroll Ong from Metrobank Super Bilis Padala and Red Bull Energy Drink for supporting their events.