Belgium recovered in the fifth set to be the first team to blemish defending champions Italy in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship.
Belgium kept themselves composed in a winner-take-all fifth set to become the first team to blemish defending champions Italy in their title defense at the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship after a stunning 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 21-25, 15-13 win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum late Tuesday night.
Despite squandering a 2-0 lead, Belgium was able to regain confidence thanks to their momentum-building opening win against Ukraine. Firing 31 points in the big win over the Italians, Ferre Reggers said that they simply stuck to the game plan.
[READ: FIVB: Belgium averts meltdown to derail defending champ Italy, clinches Round of 16 berth]
“We started really good and really aggressive like we did two days ago. We knew what to do, the same thing, and that’s exactly what we did,” he said after the game.
“We started aggressive, and from the start we felt there was some chance ‘cause we’re playing at the highest level we’ve ever played.”
Belgium is headed for the Round of 16 with their 2-0 record in Pool F.
Finishing strong
Belgium was close to clawing back in Set 3, aiming to sweep the defending champions in a quick win.
But the Italians were not one to back down.
In Set 3, Belgium was closing in after an attack from Reggers, 21-22, before the Italians fired a 3-1 finishing kick to extend the match and delay Belgium’s glory.
Similarly in Set 4, they were within two points, 20-22, following a service error from Mattia Bottolo in the crucial moment of the match.
However, Italy managed to force the decider.
Despite all momentum going to the side of their foes, Reggers and the rest of Belgium were able to keep themselves zeroed in on the important moments of the match and steeled themselves in a back-and-forth fifth set.
Things were knotted at 13-all in the deciding set before Reggers unleashed back-to-back attacks to clinch the victory for Belgium.
“We just kept on going even though we lost the next sets and we didn’t lose focus, we didn’t lose any motivation or confidence. We just kept on going the whole game.” he said.
Reggers had ample support as well, with Sam Deroo and Seppe Rotty adding 17 and 16 markers, respectively.
Bottolo and Alessandro Michieletto were the go-to options on offense for Italia in the losing effort with a combined 33 points.
Belgium wraps up their preliminary phase campaign on Thursday against Algeria at 2 p.m. while Italy and Ukraine battle for the last remaining Round of 16 slot in the pool also on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. Both games will be at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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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.