Iran eliminates valiant Alas Pilipinas in 5-set heartbreaker

MANILA, Philippines, September 19 ------ Midnight struck on the proverbial clock for Cinderella team Alas Pilipinas as Iran edged its way to the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship knockout phase off a five-set thriller, 21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 22-20, at a silenced Mall of Asia Arena.

Recovering from an error-prone opening frame and a third-set blowout loss, world No. 16 Iran earned its way back to even off a 25-23 squeaker in the fourth to eventually prevail in the do-or-die fifth set off a heart-stopping exchange of extended match point saves and challenges.

The most crucial point came at the 19-18 mark, when Alas middle blocker Kim Malabunga seemingly had the match won, 20-18, after a block that sent a majority of the 14,420 fans in an unbridled frenzy — players, coaches, federation officials included. But with nothing to lose, Iran called for a net touch challenge — the only one it can call at the moment — and caught an astounding reversal to save the match, 19-all, as replays showed Malabunga’s hand grazing the net mere milliseconds before the ball landed on the floor.

Though captain Bryan Bagunas tried to lift morale with another match-tying hit, 20-all, but Iran already had the upper hand as it buried two crowd-silencing hits for the shocking win. The loss eliminated the No. 77 Filipinos, who highlighted their world stage debut with a stunning upset of world No. 21 Egypt just two days earlier.

Bagunas, Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh Firouzjah and Ali Hajipour Moghaddam Farouji all scored 22 points in the legendary battle. Leo Ordiales followed up with 21 more points after his resurgence against Egypt, Marck Espejo added 15 markers, while Malabunga scored 10. Iran advanced to the playoff phase after finishing as one of the top two teams in Pool A alongside Tunisia.

Source: rappler.com