Alas Pilipinas bows out of FIVB Worlds as Iran books Round of 16 spot

Iran took down Alas Pilipinas, 21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 22-20, to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship on Thursday night, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

It seemed for a moment that the Philippines had won after they scored to make it 20-18 in the fifth set, but a late challenge by Iran kept the game going. 

Instead, Iran was able to pull it together from there and take the win.

Iran joined Tunisia as the top two teams in Group A, officially advancing to the Round of 16 of the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship. Both will face the winners of Group H in the next round.

Bryan Bagunas carried out another team-high performance in as many games. This time, he shone with 22 points built on 18 attacks, three blocks, two of which came in the deciding set, and an ace to power the Philippines' gallant stand on the world stage where it made heads turn.

Opposite spiker Leo Ordiales, who more than made up for his slack in Alas Pilipinas’ win against Egypt, had 21 points highlighted by 19 kills.

Meanwhile, Marck Espejo and Kim Malabunga added 15 and 10 points, respectively, giving the hosts a well-rounded offensive effort.

The all-Asian matchup saw the Philippines and Iran trade the first four sets, with the Filipinos leading 2-1 at one point. Iran, however, came in with momentum from their earlier four-set win over Tunisia and refused to back down.

In the deciding fifth set, Alas Pilipinas trailed early, 9-5, before Bagunas denied Ali Hajipour at the net to tie the set at 10-all. Both squads continued taking turns for the lead that saw the Filipinos race to the first six match points of the set but to no avail.

Finally, on the seventh try, Malabunga rejected Ali Haghparast’s attack to end the game at 20-18 once and for all as the Filipinos were then announced the winner advancing to the Round of 16.

However, the late net touch challenge proved to be on the Iranians’ side as the game went on where Haghparast’s off-the-block point and Yousef Kazemi Poshtpari’s block on Espejo were more than enough to seal the official win for the visiting side.

Poriya Hossein and Ali Hajipour led Iran with 22 points apiece, helping secure their team’s second straight win and a place in the next round, which begins Saturday at the same venue.

—JMB/JKC, GMA Integrated News