Marck Espejo scored the winning point off his block and Alas Pilipinas went on to score a scintillanting historic first win at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship on Tuesday.
Espejo’s defensive play came right after Bryan Bagunas put the game near match point in the fourth set with his kill past a three-man block party, sending the Philippines to a 29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21 stopping of African champion Egypt in an early evening encounter at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Fans celebrated the Philippines’ memorable victory, which saw Bagunas finishing with a game-high 25 points, off 23 kills and two blocks.
“Ito na iyung best game namin sa buong buhay ko. After nu’ng first set, tingin namin, kaya namin. Nu’ng second set, sinubukan namin, pero kinapos,” said Espejo, after Alas Pilipinas posted their first victory in two games in Pool A.
All four teams are now in a four-way tie in Pool A with the same 1-1 win-loss records.
Iran celebrated its first win after repulsing Tunisia, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16, in a late afternoon showdown.
The Philippines is now in a do-or-die showdown against Iran on Thursday, along with Egypt it goes up against Tunisia for the two precious spots in the quarterfinals.
“They relied on the attacks of Bagunas to win. And they deserved to win. And today wasn’t our best level of volleyball,” said Egypt’s coach Marco Bonitta.
