Alex Nikolov and Iran's Foolad Sirjan decisively qualified for the semifinals of the Asian Champions League after crushing Indonesia's Jakarta Garuda Jaya 3:0 (25:14, 25:12, 25:12) in a quarterfinal match of the final phase of the tournament in Pontianak (Indonesia). In the semifinal, the Iranian team will face Japan's JTEKT Stings Aichi. Earlier in the day, the Japanese team also reached the Top 4 after a convincing victory over Thailand's Men Korat 3:0 (25:20, 25:14, 25:18).
The Iranian champion left no chances for their opponent and completely dominated in all elements of the game. The performance from service was particularly impressive, with Foolad scoring 11 aces against none for the Indonesian team.
The standout player for the winners was Iran's national team member and Alex Nikolov's former teammate at Lube – Porya, who finished with 19 points, including 1 block and an impressive 6 aces. Four of his direct points from serve came in the very first set and largely decided its outcome.
Bulgarian national player Alex Nikolov also played a very strong match and finished as the second-highest scorer for his team with 13 points. The outside hitter contributed with 1 block and 3 aces, being among the main attacking figures for the Iranian squad.
For Jakarta Garuda Jaya, only captain Dawuda reached double-digits, finishing with 12 points, but even he could not prevent the heavy defeat for the Indonesians.

Foolad Sirjan totally outplayed their opponent in every component. The huge difference came mainly from service and block – 20 direct points against none for the Indonesian team. The Iranian team controlled the tempo throughout and did not allow the match to become evenly contested for a single moment.

Porya was the great leader of the Iranian team, especially from the serve, where he literally shattered the opponent's reception. Alex Nikolov once again demonstrated stability and effectiveness in attack, and the two formed Foolad Sirjan's main offensive power.