Manila.The volleyball world witnessed one of the biggest surprises of the World Championship – the hosts from the Philippines achieved their first victory in the history of the tournament in their debut appearance at the world finals. Before their incredibly loud and enthusiastic home crowd in Pasay City, the proteges of Italian specialist Angiolino Frigoni defeated Egypt 3:1 sets. Interestingly, the Africans are also led by another Italian – Marco Bonitta, which added extra intensity to the clash.
The success brought not only immense joy to the fans but also a sharp jump in the world rankings – the Filipinos climbed a remarkable 11 positions and are now 77th. Egypt, on the other hand, dropped one place and occupies the 22nd position.
Set scores
Pool A – Preliminary Phase – Men #29
Pasay City, Philippines
Philippines – Egypt 3:1 (29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21)
Match statistics
| Team | Attack | Block | Serve | Opponent errors | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 58 | 11 | 4 | 29 | 102 |
| Egypt | 52 | 8 | 1 | 33 | 94 |
The Philippines showed exceptional variability and aggressiveness in attack, surpassing their opponent by 6 points in this element. Their strength was also in blocking – a total of 11 successful blocks against 8 for Egypt. Although the Africans received more points from opponent errors, the hosts compensated with better serving and organized defense.
Individual performances
| Player | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Bryan Bagunas (#1) | Philippines | 25 |
| Leo Ordiales (#17) | Philippines | 21 |
| Saif Abed (#14) | Egypt | 15 |
| Hamada (#1) | Egypt | 14 |
The duo Bagunas – Ordiales was a nightmare for the Egyptian block, bringing in 46 points together. Egypt failed to find a counter to their effectiveness, while their top scorer – Saif Abed – finished with just 15 points.
What's next?
With this success, the hosts made the group extremely complicated – all teams now have one win each, with Tunisia leading with the best set and point ratio. On Thursday, Egypt meets Camilo Placi's team in a direct clash for the round of 16, while the Philippines will have a tough task against Iran.
Will there be another sensation? As the fans like to say: "As long as the ball is in the air, anything is possible!"
photos: Nikolay Varadinov
