The second phase of the 2024 National Men’s Volleyball Championship has just ended after a week of dramatic and exciting competition in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province. Thanks to their great efforts, the Da Nang men's volleyball team ranked 5^th overall, completing the goal of staying in the highest level of the tournament.

Da Nang men's volleyball team (in red jerseys) at the 2024 National Men's Volleyball Championship. Photo: PHI NONG

Tense championship and relegation race

Following the success of phase 1, the matches in the phase 2 maintained high professional quality. Defending champion Sanest Khanh Hoa showed good performance, leading the rankings with 21 points after 7 wins and 1 loss.

With the same record (7 wins, 1 loss), Bien Phong came the second place with 20 points, because the set win/loss ratio was lower than the opponents.

The remaining positions in the top 9 were The Cong Tan Cang (19 points), LPBank Ninh Binh (14 points), Da Nang (9 points), Lavie Long An (8 points), Ha Noi (8 points), Ha Tinh (7 points), Vinh Long (2 points).

According to the competition format of the tournament, the 4 leading teams after phase 2 will compete for the championship, whilst the 4 bottom teams will compete for 2 tickets to stay in the league.

The final and relegation matches will take place from November 28 - December 1 in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province.

In the championship group, the teams will compete in the semi-finals. The 2 winning teams will enter the final, and the 2 losing teams will compete for 3^rd place.

Sanest Khanh Hoa, at the top of the table, will meet the fourth-placed team LPBank Ninh Binh in the first semi-final, and Border Defence will face The Cong Tan Cang in the second semi-final. Although rated lower than Sanest Khanh Hoa, the former champion LPBank Ninh Binh has the ability to create a surprise. In the second stage, the ancient capital team excellently defeated The Cong Tan Cang who had just won against Sanest Khanh Hoa.

In the second semi-final, Bien Phong and The Cong Tan Cang were considered evenly matched. The current runner-up Bien Phong was considered a miniature Vietnam volleyball team as it had many national players, while The Cong Tan Cang was the only team to sign contracts with 2 foreign players in the second stage.

In the relegation race, Lavie Long An, Hanoi, Ha Tinh and Vinh Long played a round-robin plus the head-to-head record of the 4 teams in the group stage to find the 2 relegated clubs. Among these teams, Ha Tinh disappointed when they came second to last despite having a good domestic force and highly rated foreign players. If they do not compete with determination in the relegation round, they face the risk of being relegated to the A league.

Towards better results

Ranking 5^th after the second phase, Da Nang completed their relegation target in their second time participating in the national volleyball championship. This is a satisfactory result for the team, because it is very difficult to get into the top 4 against teams with great potential and ambition such as Sanest Khanh Hoa, Bien Phong, The Cong Tan Cang, LPBank Ninh Binh.

In fact, the top 4 men's volleyball teams in Viet Nam are far ahead of the remaining 5 teams after 2 rounds. In this year's tournament, the Da Nang men's volleyball team won 6 points in the first round. In the second round, the team lost 1-3 to Ha Tinh in the opening match. In the second match, Da Nang could not create a surprise when losing 0-3 to The Cong Tan Cang. However, in the important match with Vinh Long, Da Nang defeated the opponent 3-1 to win 3 valuable points, successfully staying in the league with 1 round left. In the final match, the team lost to the championship candidate Bien Phong 0-3.

According to coach of Da Nang men's volleyball team Le Nho Thanh, the second phase of the 2024 National Men’s Volleyball Championship is highly competitive, with teams increasing quality players.

In order to achieve the goal of staying in the league, each member of the coaching staff and players of the Da Nang men's volleyball team has shown determination in training and competing. The matches with the championship candidates of the tournament provide valuable experiences for the team to improve, aiming for better results in the following seasons.

Deputy Director in charge of the Da Nang Sports and Gymnastics Training and Training Center Tran Do Quang said that 2024 is the second time the local men's volleyball team has tried their hand at the national volleyball championship.

Previously, the team won the right to be promoted thanks to the championship of the 2022 A-class volleyball tournament. In the past two seasons, the team has competed with determination to stay in the highly competitive playground.

To achieve better results in the next season, the center will continue to create favourable conditions for athletes in training and competition activities. However, the team needs more support from units and businesses to sign contracts with quality foreign players who are competitive enough in the tournament. Currently, the top teams of the tournament all have strong social resources.

Reporting by PHI NONG - Translating by M.DUNG