Brothers Aleksandar and Simeon Nikolov powered Bulgaria’s youth-driven squad to a statement debut in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, stunning world no. 8 Germany in straight sets, 40-38, 25-22, 25-20, on Saturday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Nikolov siblings spearheaded world No.16 Bulgaria’s upset that netted the team a full three points to open its Pool E campaign.
Aleksandar, just 21 years old, delivered a dominant 28-point performance built on 25 kills, two blocks, and an ace.
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His younger brother Simeon, 18, orchestrated the offense with a 33.75-percent setting efficiency while also chipping in nine points of his own — seven from attacks and two aces.
“Really happy, really proud of the team. We had a great performance today. Feeling a little tired — it felt like a five-set game even though it was only three sets because of that first set that you talked about. But again, super proud of the team,” Aleksandar said after the one-hour, 43-minute clash.
The opening set was a rollercoaster of emotions for the crowd, stretching into a 43-minute marathon. Despite their average age of just 23.2 years, Bulgaria showed poise in the clutch.
With Germany holding a 38-37 set point — its 11th of the frame — Martin Atanasov blasted a crosscourt hit to level the score.
A German attack error followed, before Aleksandar sealed the set with a powerful pipe attack for the 40-38 finish.
“I’m happy because it’s a good result, but it’s only the first match. We know that when you are in a four-team pool, you need to play every match like a Final. We should instill in our minds that this is the way to play in this competition,“ Bulgaria head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini reminded.
Bulgaria next faces World No.6 Slovenia on Monday at 5:30 PM, while Germany will try to rebound against No.27 Chile earlier that day at 1:30 PM.
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Veteran György Grozer, 40, still carried the fight for Germany with 13 points from seven attacks, three blocks, and three aces.
Anton Brehme added 11 points, while Tobias Krick contributed 10 in the losing cause.
