Facing the risk of early elimination, the Europeans swept the Asians and kept their chances of advancing to the Round of 16
Serbia had their backs against the wall and responded with a three-set victory over China
Playing under heavy pressure after their opening-match upset to continental rivals Czechia, Serbia provided a strong answer on Tuesday and continue alive in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
The Europeans faced China at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, needing to get and win to keep their chances of advancing to the Round of 16, and so they did, taking the Asians down 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 29-27) in the last match of the day.
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The first three points collected by the Serbians in the Philippines put them strongly in the mix for one of the two spots out of Pool H in the Round of 16. They have now tied Czechia and are three points behind leaders Brazil, the other two teams with chances of progressing, but control their own fate as a straight-set victory over the Brazilians on Thursday would put them through regardless of other results – they can advance with other results, depending on what happens in the encounter involving Czechia and China, also on Thursday.
Star opposite Dražen Luburić carried the Serbian offense with a match-high 17 points (15 kills, one block, one ace). Outside hitter Pavle Perić and middle blocker Aleksandar Nedeljković contributed 11 points each.
“The first match was tough for us,” Luburić remarked. “I felt that we didn’t get enough rest after a long flight and just weren’t fresh. We also have a new generation of players this season and are still working to build some chemistry. Now we’re finally getting some rhythm. We have one match left against Brazil, and it’s our last chance to advance, so let’s hope for the best.”
On the Chinese side, outside hitter Bin Wang was the only one to get to double digits in scoring, registering 16 points with 15 kills and one ace.
“I thought we played well, but we didn’t have many chances to win today, and we didn’t take the ones we had,” middle blocker Peng Shikun said. “It’s a little bit frustrating to see that happen after five months of training, but I guess we just need to push hard and try to become a better team. I hope we can play a great match against Czechia.”
The keys to the Serbian victory were their stronger offense (45 kills to 35) and a lower number of errors (19 to 25). Each team fired a pair of aces, and the Asians had a slim edge in blocking (eight points to seven).
2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship: Match Schedule & Results
Thursday will be the last day of Pool H matches in Pasay City, with Brazil facing Serbia at 10:00 local time (2:00 GMT) and Czechia meeting China later, at 21:00 (13:00 GMT).
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