All square in Pool A as the home team beats Egypt
Inspired by a full house in Pasay City, the Philippines beat Egypt for a historic first ever Men’s Volleyball World Championship win
The Philippines erupted in joy as their national team wrote some history on the court at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Tuesday. Inspired by a full house in their second Pool A match at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, the home heroes defeated Egypt in four sets and recorded the country’s first ever victory in the history of the competition. With all four teams boasting 1-1 win-loss records in the Pool A standings, both third-leg matches on Thursday – Philippines against Iran, and Egypt against Tunisia – will offer do-or-die duels for the two spots in the eighthfinals.
- Watch the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship on VBTV
After the Philippines and Egypt traded the first two sets by the narrowest of margins, the home team managed to stay in control for the most part of the next two sets to celebrate a 3-1 (29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21) victory.
Before this match, the Asian team was ranked number 88 in the world, but with the newly gained 18.14 ranking points from this major upset, they jumped up to number 77. Meanwhile, Egypt, whose ranking score was reduced by as many points, descended from number 21 to number 22.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DOqbUUPjLPt/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
The Philippines committed more unforced errors than Egypt, but more than compensated with their advantage in the other three scoring elements. They outperformed the opponents by 58-52 in spike kills, by 4-1 in serving aces and by 11-8 in kill blocks. Philippines’ outside hitter and captain Bryan Bagunas was above all with a match-high 25 points. He hammered 23 kills in attack at a success rate of 58% and put up two kill blocks. 22-year-old opposite Leo Ordiales spiked at a 61% success rate and fired a couple of aces to finish with 21 points.
The other outside, Marck Jesus Espejo, who delivered the winning point of the match with a monster block, also reached the double digits with a total of 13 points, including an ace and three stuffs.
“I am super happy that we got the win, and I am happy that I played well,” Ordiales told VBTV. “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.”
Egypt made 29 unforced errors, slightly better than the opponents’ 33 in that component of the score. Their opposite Seif Abed delivered a team-high 15 points – 14 swings at a 54% success rate and one kill block. Middle blocker Mohamed Osman Elhaddad Hamada impressed with as many as five kill blocks and an 82% success rate in offense, and signed off with a total of 14 points.
2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship: full schedule and results
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
Mikasa Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/mikasasports_official
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation