Poland fought tooth and nail in a competitive first set before restoring order against Romina in their first game of the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship.
World no. 1 Poland recovered from a shaky start to dominate Romania in three sets, 34-32, 25-15, 25-19, in Pool B action at the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday night.
Poland, silver medalists from 2022, had to endure a tough challenge from Romania in the opening set where they seesawed in an extended set that lasted for 38 minutes.
Not to be deterred, Bartosz Kurek and the rest of the Polish hitters quickly regained their bearings in Set 2, pummeling their foes in dominant fashion.
Lasting just 22 mintues, Poland seized the 2-0 lead, 25-15.
Though Romania kept themselves within striking distance in Set 3 where they were within two early in the set, 9-11, the powerhouse Poles kept them at arms length to cruise to the victory, 25-19.
Wilfredo Leon had a team high 14 points while Kurek added 13 markers. Tomasz Fornal contributed 10 points to the sweep victory.
Robert Aciobanitei paced Romania in the losing effort with 11 points.
Poland will gun for a 2-0 slate when they face Qatar on Monday, September 15 also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at 9:30 p.m.
Romania, for their part, face the Netherlands also on Monday at an earlier time at 6:00 p.m. at the same Quezon City venue.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.