MANILA – Alas Pilipinas will go down in history as the first Philippine team to win a match at the FIVB Men’s World Championship, beating world No. 22 Egypt 29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Tuesday.
Outside Marck Jesus Espejo delivered the winning point with a monster block. He finished with 13 points, including an ace.
The Philippines also jumped from No. 88 in the world to 77th.
All four teams in Pool A have 1-1 cards, thus both matches on Thursday will be do-or-die duels for spots in the Round of 16 — Egypt versus Tunisia at 1:30 p.m. and Philippines vs. world No. 14 Iran at 5:30 p.m.
The Philippines committed more unforced errors than Egypt (33-29), but more than made up for it in the other scoring elements — 58-52 in spike kills, 4-1 in serving aces and 11-8 in kill blocks.
Outside hitter and captain Bryan Bagunas fired a match-high 25 points, hammering 23 kills and two kill blocks, while 22-year-old opposite Leo Ordiales spiked at a 61 percent success rate and fired a couple of aces to finish with 21 points.
“I am super happy that we got the win and I am happy that I played well,” Ordiales said in the post-match interview. “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.”
Tunisia beat the Philippines, 25-13, 25-17, 25-23, during the lone opening match on Sept. 12, but lost to Iran also on Tuesday, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 16-25.
Egypt opposite Seif Abed delivered a team-high 15 points and middle blocker Mohamed Osman Elhaddad Hamada impressed with five kill blocks on his way to a total 14 points.
Over at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Ukraine dominated Algeria in Pool F, 25-17, 25-12, 25-11, and may still make it to the next round; and Argentina beat South Korea for a 2-0 card in Pool C, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18.
Brazil likewise inched toward the final 16 after stopping Czechia at the Pasay Arena, 25-11, 25-22, 25-18.
Only USA, Canada, Bulgaria, Poland, the Netherlands and Türkiye are assured of Round of 16 slots as of posting time. (FIVB Media/PNA)
