From near-elimination to a seat among the Last Eight, Iran proved once again that resilience runs deep in its veins.
The World No. 16 Iranians pulled off a breathtaking 23-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 15-9 comeback over No. 13 Serbia on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena, completing the quarterfinals field in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
Trailing 1-2 in the two-hour, 14-minute battle, Iran refused to bow, launching a decisive 6-1 run in the tiebreaker to frustrate the European powerhouse.
Team captain Morteza Sharifi led the charge, hammering down the final blow that turned a precarious 6-5 edge into a commanding 12-6 cushion en route to victory.
Sharifi finished with 23 points, matched by Ali Hajipour, while Ali Haghparast added 18 points and Mohammad Valizadeh contributed 10.
The Iranian comeback story started earlier in the tournament against host Alas Pilipinas, where the team secured a nerve-wracking five-set win through a timely net touch challenge by Italian mentor Roberto Piazza.
That momentum carried through against Serbia, who had taken a 2-1 set lead after a gutsy 26-24 third set.
With their backs against the wall, Iran broke a 13-all deadlock in the fourth set to force a decider and never looked back.
Their next challenge awaits Czechia, World No. 18 and a first-game winner, in the quarterfinals on Thursday, with Iran eyeing a historic run past its best-ever fifth-place finish in 2014.
“I’m happy. We are all happy, of course. That was a crucial game — but the most crucial one was against the Philippines. Maybe we trained perfectly for that, because we ended up winning an amazing match,” Piazza said.
“It was truly special — at one point, we had lost everything. And for one video challenge, one check, and now here we are, talking about the future. That was the turning point.”
He added, “We’ve been preparing the team — all of us coaches — to be ready to play at this level. To be able to play three five-set matches in a row: 3-2, 3-2, 3-2. That’s the mindset we need to have during this tournament.”
For Serbia, Drazen Luburic tallied 27 points while Miran Kujundzic, Aleksandar Nedeljkovic, and Pavle Peric contributed 17, 13, and 12 points, respectively.
Despite topping Pool H, their campaign ended in heartbreak.
