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Czechia, Bulgaria edge rivals to book semis showdown in FIVB Worlds

Sports | Volleyball

Czechia, Bulgaria edge rivals to book semis showdown in FIVB Worlds

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

At A Glance

The Czechs bucked an opening-set stumble and turned back Asian powerhouse Iran, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21, while the Bulgarians rose from a two-set deficit and outlasted heavy favorite United States, 21-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 15-13, to arrange a semifinal duel.

Aleksandar Nikolov stars for Bulgaria. (Volleyball World)

Aleksandar Nikolov stars for Bulgaria. (Volleyball World)

Czechia continued its historic run at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship while Bulgaria returned to the semifinals after nearly two decades after edging separate rivals on Thursday, Sept. 25, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Czechs bucked an opening-set stumble and turned back Asian powerhouse Iran, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21, while the Bulgarians rose from a two-set deficit and outlasted heavy favorite United States, 21-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 15-13, to arrange a semifinal duel.

It was the first semis appearance for Czechia in 55 years, since their predecessors Czechoslovakia last made it this far in the competition, and first time as a separate nation. Bulgaria, for its part, advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2006.

Patrik Indra and Lukas Vasina led the Czechs’ offense by combining for 39 attacks to finish with 22 and 21 points, respectively, while skipper Adam Zajicek took charge of their defense by posting four of the team’s seven blocks.

They overshadowed the efforts of Poriya Hossein, Ali Hajipour and Morteza Sharifi for Iran, who conspired for 37 points.

Meanwhile, Aleksandar Nikolov exploded for Bulgaria with 29 points built on 26 kills, two aces and one block, with help coming from Asparuh Asparuhov and Iliya Petkov, who finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Semis action fires off on Saturday, Sept. 27, with defending champion Italy and world No. 1 Poland clashing in the other pairing.

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