Bahrain book volleyball date with Qatar

Bahrain claimed the final quarterfinal place with a thrilling victory over Chinese Taipei in their pool B decider.

The teams were unbeaten going into the match but it was Chinese Taipei who looked the more likely winners when they took the first and third sets.

Bahrain recovered to level twice and won a closely-fought decider to clinch the match 18-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19, 15-13.

Coach Aleksander Senicic, whose team will now take on hosts Qatar on 11 December, said: "It was a must-win match. I feel very good and am very proud of my players."

Ebrahim Nesaif, who contributed eight points, added: "Chinese Taipei are more experienced than us. We changed our technique as part of our game plan."

Chinese Taipei coach Chou Tsung Hao said: "The main reason we lost the match was our reception in the last few sets of the match. We also did not do well in blocking."

Thailand beat Hong Kong, China 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-11) in the last preliminary round match, with neither team qualifying for the next stage.

By 15th Asian Games, Doha 2006