Guzzo shines as The Emperor wins third spot in volleyball

• 11th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament one day away from grand conclusion
• Employees, sponsors and staff felicitated by organizing committee​

DUBAI: Italian Tommaso Guzzo came up with a man of the match performance to power The Emperor to a smooth 3-0 win over Al Jawareh to clinch third place in the volleyball tournament at the 11th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament at a packed Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, late on Saturday.

Guzzo’s 20 individual points was the standout moment even as teammate Luca Purro came in handy with his contribution of 14 points as The Emperor sailed past Al Jawareh 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 in a close fight for third place.

The 197 cm tall Guzzo, who will turn 22 on April 30, plays either as outside spiker or opposite for his team Pallavolo Padova in Italy.

Al Jawareh tried their best, but found the defence from The Emperor too hot to handle. Jordi Ramon and Michael Czerwinski contributed with 16 and 12 points respectively, but still ended up on the losing side.

The Emperor had surrendered to Zabeel 2 3-0, while Al Jawareh had fought well in a 3-2 loss against Fohood Zabeel in the two semi-finals earlier during the week.

Hassan Al Mazrouei, Tournament Director of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament was joined by Adil Al Bannai from the organizing committee in honouring the winners of the third-placed team in the presence of members of the steering committee and course coordinators.

Launched and supported by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, the 11th Ramadan Sports Tournament will conclude with the volleyball final on March 31.

Held under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman Dubai Sports Council, the largest sports tournament of its kind during the holy month of Ramadan at the NAS Sports Complex, is conducted under the slogan “Limitless Capabilities.”

Organised under the auspices of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), this year’s sports fiesta had nine different sports disciplines, including Padel, Jiu-Jitsu, Fencing, Road Racing, Cycling and an Obstacle Challenge Race that have all been complete leaving just the Volleyball, Wheelchair Basketball and Tug-of-War competitions at the moment.

The 11th Ramadan Sports Tournament will conclude with the volleyball final that is scheduled to be held late on Easter Sunday (March 31).

All eight team managers of the volleyball teams were also honoured with a shield each on behalf of the organizing committee of the 11th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament. The course referees and members of the VIS Statistical Analysis Committee were also felicitated.

The managers who were honoured with special shields were Sultan Ibrahim Ahli (Zabeel 2), Matar Saif Al Jabri (Fohood Zabeel), Faisal Youssef Al Raisi (Al Jawareh), Hamid Mohammed Jaber (The Emperor), Mohamed Abdul Rahim Al Zarouni (Zabeel 1), Ali Al Bedwawi (The King), Marwan Bin Thani (HMS) and Ahmed Abbas (Lt. Gen. Marwan bin Thani team).

In addition, all those working in the tournament, including the medical staff, the ambulance, the Dubai Police, the Dubai Sports Channel staff from the analytical studio, commentators, photographers, workers from the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex and volunteers participating in organizing the volleyball tournament, were honoured.