HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam lost 0-3 to host Myanmar in the opening Pool A match at the 2016 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship that began yesterday in Nay Pyi Taw City.

Việt Nam, represented by Maseco HCM City club, could not resist the strong volleys of the host and lost all three sets 25-17, 25-20, 25-21.

They will next play Nebitchi club from Turkmenistan.

In the Pool C action yesterday, Al Arabi Sports Club of Qatar beat Wing 46 Toyota Phitsanulok from Thailand 25-10, 25-10, 25-12.

Fifteen teams are competing in the championship.

Meanwhile, Pool B has Indonesia’s Surabaya Samator, Japan’s Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza, Iraq’s Gas Aljanoob and Chinese Taipei’s Taiwan Power.

Pool C consists of the United Arab Emirates’ Al Jazira, Al Arabi Sports Club, Wing 46 Toyota-Phitsanulok and Shanghai Golden Age from the Chinese mainland, while Pool D has Malaysia, Iran’s Bank Sarmayeh, Kazakhstan’s Altay VC and Lo Kon Ting Volleyball Association from Hong Kong.

The three-day pool preliminaries will end tomorrow.

Friday will be a rest day, and intense competition will resume on Saturday and run through August 31, with the teams competing in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the finals.

The two teams from each pool that top the preliminary round will advance to the quarter-finals in Pools E and Pool F, while the teams finishing third and fourth in each pool will be relegated to the ninth to 16th classification round.

The finals will be held on August 31. The awards presentation and closing ceremony will take place shortly after the final showdown.

The winners of the prestigious tournament will represent Asia at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship at Belo Horizonte and Betim in Brazil. — VNS