Pasay city: Alas Pilipinas etched its name in the annals of sports history by achieving its first-ever victory at the FIVB Men’s World Championship. The Philippine team triumphed over world No. 22 Egypt with a scoreline of 29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the match’s decisive moment came when outside hitter Marck Jesus Espejo delivered the winning point with a formidable block, contributing to his total of 13 points, which included an ace. This victory catapulted the Philippines from No. 88 to No. 77 in the global rankings.
The competition in Pool A remains fierce, with all four teams holding 1-1 records. Thursday’s matches will be critical in determining which teams advance to the Round of 16. Egypt will face Tunisia at 1:30 p.m., while the Philippines will compete against world No. 14 Iran at 5:30 p.m.
Despite committing more unforced errors than Egypt (33-29), the Philippines excelled in other scoring aspects, leading in spike kills (58-52), serving aces (4-1), and kill blocks (11-8). Captain Bryan Bagunas led the charge with a match-high of 25 points, including 23 kills and two blocks. Meanwhile, 22-year-old opposite Leo Ordiales showcased an impressive 61 percent success rate in spikes and contributed 21 points, including two aces.
Ordiales expressed his joy in a post-match interview, stating, “I am super happy that we got the win and I am happy that I played well. After the loss to Tunisia, we talked about our errors and practiced a lot, so now we played well. We are super happy that so many fans support us.”
In other matches, Tunisia defeated the Philippines during the opening match on September 12 but fell to Iran on Tuesday, with scores of 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 16-25. For Egypt, opposite Seif Abed led with 15 points, while middle blocker Mohamed Osman Elhaddad Hamada contributed 14 points, including five kill blocks.
Elsewhere, Ukraine dominated Algeria in Pool F at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, with scores of 25-17, 25-12, 25-11, keeping their hopes for the next round alive. Argentina defeated South Korea in Pool C, holding a 2-0 card with scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18. Brazil also moved closer to the final 16 by defeating Czechia at the Pasay Arena, 25-11, 25-22, 25-18.
As of now, only the USA, Canada, Bulgaria, Poland, the Netherlands, and Turkey are assured of spots in the Round of 16.