Poland Secures Pool B Lead with Victory Over Romania in FIVB Men’s World Championship

World No. 1 Poland overcame a tightly contested first set before dominating Romania 34-32, 25-15, 25-19 at the FIVB Men’s World Championship hosted at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.

Polish captain Bartosz Kurek, returning to international play after missing the Volleyball Nations League, contributed 13 points. Wilfredo León led the team with 14 points, while Tomasz Fornal added 10 points to the effort.

"It's great to be back," Kurek remarked. "My break this season wasn't planned, so I had to work hard to regain my form and join the team. This tournament is long, and our goal is to stay competitive until the end. We avoid setting strict expectations because they can be detrimental. Instead, we focus on treating every match as if it's the final, hoping that approach will bring us to the championship game."

The victory propelled Poland to the top of Pool B, ahead of the Netherlands, who secured a four-set win against Qatar.

On Romania's side, Adrian Aciobăniței led with 11 points while Mircea Peța contributed nine. Aciobăniței reflected on their effort, saying, "It was a challenging match for us, but I'm proud of our team and coaching staff. The first set was very close, and unfortunately, we missed the opportunity to win it. Moving forward, we need to improve our precision and patience in critical moments."

Other noteworthy results included Portugal's upset of Cuba in Pool D, Bulgaria's surprise victory over Germany in Pool E, and an easy win for the USA against Colombia in their tournament opener. Additionally, Slovenia swept Chile, and Türkiye delivered a significant upset against host Japan, marking their first win over the Japanese team since 2016.