GAMES TODAY
(Mall of Asia Arena)
3:30 p.m. – Tunisia vs. Czechia
8 p.m. – Serbia vs. Iran
PAST the midway point of the third set, Bulgarian outside hitter Martin Atanasov towered over Portugal counterpart Rafael Santos and swatted the latter’s spike before flexing his shoulders—the delight of the appreciative crowd yesterday.
In a fitting celebration of their Independence Day, the Bulgarians dismantled the Portuguese 25-19, 25-23, 25-13 in their Round of 16 battle in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Atanasov’s monster block pushed the world No. 11 Bulgaria’s edge to 14-5 in the third frame—a lead it never relinquished—on its way to clinching a quarterfinals slot for the first time since 2010, when it wound up seventh overall.
Prized setter Moni Nikolov was understandably elated no end as the Lions stayed unscathed in the prestigious 32-team field and more importantly they moved to the Last Eight after 15 years.
“It means quite a lot just because of the work that we put in,” Moni Nikolov, who dished off 23 excellent sets, said. “I think our federation and our national team is starting a new process and going to the quarterfinals kinda shows the work that we put in. I’m happy that we’re here.
“I’m proud of me and my brother. I think we’re trying our hardest to continue his legacy, continue his name Nikolov, hopefully we can medal this tournament but if not, then I know we’ve given it our all and he should be proud of us for that,” he added.
Moni’s older brother, Aleksandar Nikolov, uncorked a match-high 19 points built on 17 attacks, a kill block, an ace, and eight excellent digs, in the runaway one-hour, 19-minute tiff.
Atanasov and middle blocker Aleks Grozdanov chimed in nine and eight points, respectively, for the Bulgarians, who will take on the winner of the United States-Slovenia clash on Thursday.
The Americans and the Slovenians tangled at press time last night in the final 16.
Pressed if he prefers which opponent in the knockout tiff, Moni Nikolov was careful what he wished for.
“Like you’ve said, it’s the biggest match, it’s very hard to prepare. They’re both super good teams, experienced teams, and we just have to go out and give it our absolute everything we have,” he said. “Hopefully, we can win, we’re gonna make history. We’re gonna go out and give our hardest.”
