With its 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship survival on the line, Portugal bounced back just in time to execute a reverse sweep over first-timer Colombia, 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11, on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The victory gave the world No. 24 Portuguese side an inside track on the final Round of 16 slot from Pool D, as they closed the group phase with a 2-1 record.
To secure its ticket to the next round, Portugal will now need to root for knockout-bound USA to defeat Cuba (1-1) in the 5:30 p.m. match later in the day. A Cuban win, in any form, would eliminate the Europeans from contention.
“Pressure is something you cannot explain. It can be hard games or easy games, but when the pressure comes, you get stiff—and that’s what happened to us in the first two sets. The team was able to respond after the third set, and the game became much easier,” said Portugal head coach João José.
Locked in an 11-all tie in the deciding fifth set, Portugal raised its level to claim the crucial win after two hours and 27 minutes.
Nuno Marques broke the deadlock with a spike before Andres Piza misfired on his attack. Middle blocker Filip Cveticanin then closed out the match with back-to-back hits.
“A really important win. We needed this to stay in the competition, and now it’s not in our hands—but we did our job. We won, and now we wait. Really proud of the team,” said Marques, who finished with 19 points on 13 spikes, four blocks, and two aces.
Tiago Violas’ entry in the third set shifted the momentum in Portugal’s favor, posting a 56.9 percent setting efficiency as four teammates scored in double figures.
Jose Pinto added 16 points, Kelton Tavares and Cveticanin contributed 12 apiece, and Lourenco Martins tallied 11.
The Colombians, making their World Championship debut, bowed out winless but held their heads high, especially after this five-set thriller to close the tournament.
Ronald Jimenez and Felipe Benavides led Colombia with 18 points each, while team captain Leandro Ararat added 13 points.
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