Belgium drubs Ukraine in emphatic World Championship return

BELGIUM announced its roaring return to the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, clobbering Ukraine via a 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 sweep on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ferre Reggers led the onslaught with 23 points on 20 hits and three blocks as world No. 17 Belgium opened Pool F action on a high note against the higher-ranked Ukraine squad at No. 16.

The Red Dragons, who missed a ticket to the Worlds in 2022, drew ample support from Seppe Rotty and team captain Sam Deroo, who had 13 and 12 points, respectively, in an unchallenged victory.
Stijn D’Hulst quarterbacked the Belgian offense with 22 sets.

“We know that it was a crucial game because Ukraine is a very strong team in front of us in the world ranking so we were really concentrated, focused, and motivated,” said head coach Emanuele Zanini.

“We kept control in the first two sets. After that, we slowed down a little bit but we immediately bounced back. It was enough to finalize the job for today. It’s a very important victory because it’s not easy to start the tournament this way.”

From here on, Belgium faces a huge mountain to climb against reigning world champion and world No. 2 Italy on Tuesday.

Algeria, world No. 87, is the other team in Pool F.
Vasyl Tupchii had 14 points for Ukraine, which will face Algeria next on Tuesday.

Earlier, world No. 8 Argentina turned back No. 18 Finland in a thrilling reverse sweep, 19-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11, for a 1-0 record in Pool C.

Pablo Sergio Koukartsev and Luciano Palonsky joined forces with 20 and 19 points, respectively, as Argentina erased a 0-2 deficit highlighted by a strong finishing kick against the sloppy Fins with 31 errors, especially in the third-set runaway.

Over at the Mall of Asia Arena, African champion and world No. 20 Egypt stunned No. 15 Iran 25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20 behind Ahmed Shafik’s 18 points for a winning start in Pool A that also includes host Alas Pilipinas and Tunisia.

Tunisia, world No. 40, swept the No. 89 Philippines in the opener on Friday at the same venue 25-23, 25-17, 25-23.