Aside from the Philippines’ upset win against Egypt in the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship, surprises also unfolded at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, where Olympic gold medalist France and defending champion Italy suffered stunning losses to Finland and Belgium, respectively.
Both matches went the distance, with Finland defeating France in five sets, 25-19, 17-25, 29-27, 21-25, 15-9.
Finland had an early 9-2 lead in the fifth set before France closed the gap to 12-9. Antti Ronkainen then scored to make it 13-9, sparking a 3-0 run that sealed the win for the Finns.
Joonas Mikael Jokela led Finland with 20 points, while Luka Marttila and Petteri Tyynismaa added 15 and 13 points, respectively, as Finland improved to 1-1.
Jean Patry paced France with 23 points from 17 attacks, four aces, and two blocks, as the French dropped to a 1-1 record.
Later that night, Belgium pulled off its own upset, stunning world no. 2 Italy in another five-setter, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 21-25, 15-13.
In the deciding set, a service error from Italy’s Pierre Perin tied the score at 13-all before Ferrer Reggers delivered back-to-back attacks to clinch the victory for Belgium, which improved to 2-0, and booked a slot in the Round of 16.
Reggers erupted for 31 points, including 27 attacks, to lead Belgium, while Mattia Bottolo scored 17 points for Italy, which fell to 1-1.
In other matches: Argentina (2-0) defeated Korea (0-2), 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18, while Ukraine (1-1) swept Algeria (0-2), 25-17, 25-12, 25-11.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News