Tunisia spoil the Philippines’ long-awaited Volleyball World Championship debut with a dominant three-set victory in Pasay City

The stage was set at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City for the historic debut of hosts the Philippines in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship on Friday, but it was Tunisia who left the court with reason to celebrate after claiming their first victory in the 2025 edition of the event.

The Africans made use of their much larger international experience and dominated a highly motivated home team to triumph 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-23) in the match that opened the 21^st edition of the World Championship.

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The victory gave the Tunisians three points in Pool A and placed them one step closer to repeating what they did in 2022 and advancing to the elimination rounds. The Philippines didn’t take any points from their first-ever World Championship match, but will have two more opportunities to earn them and fight to make it to the next round.

Outside hitter Oussama Ben Romdhane led the Tunisian offense in the match, producing 17 points, with 15 kills and two blocks. Middle blocker Ahmed Kadhi, outside hitter Elyes Karamosli and opposite Ali Bongui contributed nine points each.

“We’re very happy to be here, in this amazing stadium and incredible atmosphere,” Ben Romdhane said. “We knew that they would be very strong defensively and that they would serve well, so we just tried to be consistent throughout the match. It was a good start for us, and now we have two more matches against Egypt and Iran, and we need to win at least one of them to qualify.”

The Filipinos were able to witness a tremendous performance from their captain in their first World Championship match, as outside hitter Bryan Bagunas was the encounter’s top scorer with 23 points (20 kills, two aces, one block). Fellow outside hitter Marck Espejo added nine.

“It wasn’t really a good start for us, but it was a great game,” Bagunas reflected. “This was our first time as part of the World Championship, and it was a great experience for us. We’re very thankful for the support the fans have been giving us, and we count on them for our next two matches.”

The Africans dominated the game at the net, outscoring their Asian opponents in kills (44 to 36) and blocks (ten to three) – they also had way fewer errors (nine to 19). The Philippines had the advantage from the service line, firing five aces to Tunisia’s two.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship: Match Schedule & Results

Reuniting Iran and Egypt, the second first-round match in Pool A will be held on Sunday, at 13:30 local time (5:30 GMT).

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