Manama, Bahrain, June 23, 2025 – Hosts Bahrain sent the home fans into raptures at Isa bin Rashid Hall on Monday night following a dramatic 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 18-25, 15-13) victory over Korea to secure a berth in the highly-anticipated final of the inaugural AVC Men’s Nations Cup.
The electrifying semifinal win not only propelled Bahrain to within touching distance of their first-ever AVC title but also served as sweet revenge after their heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Korea at last year’s AVC Challenge Cup quarterfinals, also held at this venue.
Bahrain’s success was built on a blend of explosive attacks and solid defense, with wing spiker Mohamed Abdulla Yaqoob and Ali Khamis Ebrahim spearheading the offense and Naser Anan anchoring the block. The hosts stormed to a two-set lead before Korea mounted a spirited comeback, with Heo Subong and Shin Hojin firing powerful attacks and Choi Junhyeok and Kim Jihan leading the blocking charge to level the match at 2-2 and force a decider.
The deciding set proved a tense, seesaw affair, tied at 9-9 before Yaqoob and Anan stepped up once again with decisive attacks to seal the thrilling victory for Bahrain.
Yaqoob led all scorers with 19 points from 14 attacks, 2 blocks, and 3 aces, while Ebrahim and Anan added 16 and 14 points, respectively. Middle blockers Mohamed Abdulla and Hasan Warqaa Ali chipped in 10 points each. For Korea, Shin Hojin scored 18 points, with Kim Jihan and Heo Subong contributing 17 and 16 points apiece.
Although both teams tallied 62 attack points, Bahrain had the edge in blocks (10-9) and aces (5-2), while Korea benefited from more opponent errors (34-27).
With this triumph, Bahrain gained 7.14 points in the FIVB World Rankings, climbing three places to world No.50 with a total of 72.60 points. Korea, meanwhile, dropped to No.25 with 144.18 points.
In the other semifinal, Pakistan stunned Qatar with a dominant 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-21) victory, avenging their defeat in last year’s AVC Challenge Cup final at the same venue.
Outside hitter Usman Faryad Ali led Pakistan’s offense with 18 points from 17 attacks and one block, while captain Murad Jehan added 16 points, all from attacks. Raimi Wadidie contributed 14 points including 13 attacks, and Youssef Oughlaf chipped in 11.
Pakistan earned 10.25 points from their straight-set win, rising three spots to world No.39 with 99.58 points. Qatar slipped two places to No.25 with 147.22 points.
Earlier, Australia clinched fifth place after a hard-fought 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-22) victory over Indonesia in the 5th-6th playoff match. Outside hitter Sam Flowerday led the way with 12 points, supported by Lorenzo Pope and William D’Arcy-Miles with 11 points apiece. Indonesian opposite Rivan Nurmulki was the only player from his side to reach double figures, scoring 13 points.
Australia’s superiority at the net proved decisive with 12 blocks to Indonesia’s 4, while also leading in aces (3-2) and capitalizing on more opponent errors (24-17). Despite Indonesia’s edge in kills (40-36), it wasn’t enough to prevent a straight-set defeat.
The Australians gained 5.26 ranking points to move up three positions to world No.33 with 114.18 points, while Indonesia dropped seven places to No.63 with 48.84 points.
In the 7th-8th playoff, Chinese Taipei rallied from a set down to defeat Vietnam 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22). Captain Chang Yu-Chen and Liu Yu Lin scored 21 points apiece, while Chen En-De added 17 points. Nguyen Ngoc Thuan led Vietnam with a match-high 24 points, with Hoang Xuan Truong contributing 15 in the losing effort.
Chinese Taipei picked up 5.17 points to climb two places to world No.49 with 73.66 points, while Vietnam fell four places to No.60 with 52.38 points.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for the Bahrain-Pakistan final. The eventual champions will not only make history as the inaugural AVC Men’s Nations Cup winners but also secure a coveted berth at the 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship – a gateway to global volleyball’s biggest stages: the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, as this is the inaugural edition of the AVC Men’s Nations Cup, continued media engagement is essential to promote the event and highlight the athletes’ journeys throughout the Championship. The Press Conference was held with the presence of key team representatives greatly contributing to producing engaging content for both media and fans.
The AVC Men’s Nations Cup Trophy was also unveiled for the first time in this landmark press conference. The event, presided by Control Committee President Mr Mohamed Latheef, who also serves as theAVC Executive Vice President and President of Volleyball Association of Maldives, marked a significant milestone in the inaugural edition of the AVC Men’s Nations Cup.
The press conference lasted approximately 10 minutes and primarily focused on gathering post-match comments to support media coverage and marketing activities for the AVC Nations Cup.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 (all local time)
12.00: 9th-11th playoff: Philippines vs New Zealand
15.00: Bronze medal match: Qatar vs Korea
19.00: Championship match: Pakistan vs Bahrain
Watch live matches through Volleyball World YouTube
Click the link below for match schedule, results and photos
https://asianvolleyball.net/new/2025-avc-mens-volleyball-nations-cup/
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