Alas Pilipinas in action during the AVC Men’s Nations Cup. –AVC PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas’ opponents, Tunisia and Iran, have arrived in Manila along with other teams ahead of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship from September 12 to 28 at Mall of Asia Arena and Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Iran arrived on Friday without its star Amin Esmaeilnezhad due to an ankle injury he sustained during a training camp in Doha.
READ: Bryan Bagunas keeps pushing as Alas Pilipinas nears FIVB Worlds
Despite losing Asia’s Best Opposite Spiker, Team Melli remained stacked with Ali Hajipour, Morteza Sharifi, Amirhossein Esfandiar, and Ali Haghparast.
Tunisia, which will miss prolific scorer Wassim Ben Tara, also arrived in Manila on Friday.
The World No. 43 Tunisia, an 11-time African champion, will be Alas Pilipinas’ opening day opponent on September 12 at Mall of Asia Arena, followed by a festive opening ceremony featuring K-pop group BOYNEXTDOOR, with tickets still available via the official website https://www.philippineswch2025.com.
Portugal was the first team to arrive and already played a friendly against the Philippines.
Romania arrived on Thursday, while South Korea landed on Saturday.
READ: Alas Pilipinas’ first foe Tunisia to miss star Wassim Ben Tara
All three teams will see action at the Big Dome, with South Korea competing in Pool C with France, Argentina, and Finland. Romania is in Pool B with Poland, the Netherlands, and Qatar, while Portugal is in Pool D with USA, Cuba, and Colombia.
Meanwhile, the first-ever Asian Volleyball (AVC) House was inaugurated in Bangkok, with Thailand entering the last two days of its hosting of the FIVB Women’s World Championship and the Philippines taking its turn to host the men’s global tournament in a week’s time.
Thailand Volleyball Association president Somporn Chaibangyang and National Olympic Committee of Thailand secretary-general Thana Chaiprasit joined Philippine National Volleyball Federation and AVC president Tats Suzara, FIVB president Fabio Azevedo, and Philippine Sports Commission chairman Pato Gregorio in the inauguration of the two-storey mansion sitting on a sprawling 2,800-square-meter lot in Khet Saphan Sung, one of Bangkok’s 50 districts.
“This is the home of Asia volleyball now and it easy for us to work around here with the success of volleyball in Southeast Asia,” said Suzara, who was also joined by PNVF secretary-general Donaldo Caringal and Mayor Eric Singson, who’s bidding to host the 2026 AVC Women’s Nation Cup in Candon City.
“All volleyball stakeholders are welcome especially in Asia, volleyball fans ,too, universities and club teams, and of course we are open to many sports stakeholders.”
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The women’s world championship in Thailand will stage the semifinals between and Turkiye and Italy and Brazil on Saturday and medal matches on Sunday.
