Manama, Bahrain, June 18, 2025 – The Philippines, New Zealand and Thailand were relegated to the Classification Round for 9th–11th places following consecutive defeats on Wednesday, the second day of action at the inaugural AVC Men’s Nations Cup at Isa bin Rashid Hall.
Chinese Taipei edged past a determined Philippines side 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 30-28, 25-20) in Pool C, while Vietnam produced a solid 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-15) win against New Zealand in Pool D and Indonesia staged a dramatic comeback to stun Thailand 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-8) in Pool A.
With only the top two teams from each pool advancing to the quarterfinals, the back-to-back defeats left the Philippines, New Zealand, and Thailand finishing third in their respective pools and confirmed for the 9th–11th Classification Round.
In Pool B, Kazakhstan’s earlier withdrawal due to unforeseen circumstances left Qatar and Australia as the only two teams, both of whom have already secured their quarterfinal berths ahead of their Pool B encounter on Thursday, the final day of preliminary action.
In Pool C, the Philippines put up a spirited fight but ultimately succumbed to 1-3 defeat to Chinese Taipei, officially relegating them to the classification phase. They will next face Thailand and New Zealand, the bottom-placed teams from Pools A and D, to determine the final standings from 9th to 11th places in this inaugural competition.
Opposite Chang Yu-Sheng spearheaded Chinese Taipei’s attack with 24 points (21 attacks, 3 blocks), supported by outside hitters Wen Yi-Kai (14 points) and Chang Yu-Chen (12 points). Captain Marck Jesus Espejo led all scorers with 26 points (22 attacks, 4 blocks), while opposite Leo Ordiales chipped in 15 points for the Philippines in the losing effort.
Following this victory, Chinese Taipei earned 4.02 points to raise their total to 85.23 and move up to world No.43, while the Philippines slipped two places to No.67 with 38.29 points.
In Pool D, Vietnam secured their first win with a sensational straight-sets victory over New Zealand. The Kiwis, still winless in the tournament after a 0-3 loss to Korea in their opener, were confirmed to finish bottom in their pool.
Outside hitter Nguyen Van Quoc Duy led Vietnam’s scoring with 17 points, all from attack, while Tran Duy Tuyen and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan added 11 points each. Outside hitter Mana Placid was New Zealand’s standout performer with 16 points (15 attacks).
Vietnam held the edge in attack (48 to 34) and aces (4 to 2), while New Zealand performed slightly better in blocks (4 to 0). Vietnam also capitalized on opponent errors (23 to 20) to secure the win.
The victory earned Vietnam 7.36 points to rise to world No.53 with 66.27 points, while New Zealand dropped six spots to No.63 with 48.26 points.
In Pool A, Thailand’s heartbreak mirrored that of their women’s national team, which earlier in the day lost 2-3 to Japan in the VNL 2025 Pool 5 preliminaries in Hong Kong after leading two sets to none. The Thai men similarly squandered a 2-0 lead against Indonesia, falling in five hard-fought sets.
Indonesia’s comeback was led by middle blocker Hendra Kurniawan and outside hitter Farhan Halim, who scored 17 points apiece. Doni Haryono and Rivan Nurmulki added 14 points each to round out a well-balanced attack.
Thailand’s captain and opposite Amornthep Konharn delivered a match-high 24 points (20 attacks, 1 block, 3 aces), with Chaiwat Thungkham and Anurak Phanrum adding 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Despite committing 35 unforced errors to Thailand’s 24, Indonesia dominated in attacks (64 to 49), blocks (15 to 13), and aces (6 to 3) to seal the epic comeback.
Looking ahead, the final day of the pool round-robin preliminaries on Thursday, June 19, will feature key matchups:
• Pool B: Qatar vs Australia at 11:30 local time
• Pool C: Pakistan vs Chinese Taipei at 14:00
• Pool D: Korea vs Vietnam at 16:30
• Pool D: Bahrain vs Indonesia at 19:00
Eleven national teams are contesting the AVC Men’s Nations Cup, which serves as the qualification event for the 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship – the gateway to two of volleyball’s biggest global stages: the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
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