Türkiye defeated the Netherlands, 27-29, 25-23, 25-16, 25-19, on Saturday, September 20, to secure a quarterfinal berth in the FIVB Men’s World Championship at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Opposite Adis Lagumdzija scored 28, including 25 attacks, while outside hitter Ramazan Efe Mandiraci added 15 points as the World No. 14 Turkish team notched its fourth straight win.

Outside hitter Mirza Lagumdzija and middle blocker Bedirhan Bulbul chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Türkiye swept Pool G after scoring victories over Japan (25-19, 25-23, 25-19), Libya (25-18, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16) and Canada (25-21, 25-16, 27-25).

Türkiye, which reached its first ever quarterfinal since joining the World Championship in 1956, will face the winner between Poland and Canada.

In the previous edition in 2022, it lost in this round against the USA.

“We made history today by beating the Netherlands and going to the quarterfinals. This was our target for the summer. We’ve been working for four months. Our handwork paid off. We’re happy to be in the next stage,” Lagumdzija said after the two-hour match.

Opposite Michiel Ahyl finished with 21 points off 20 attacks and one ace for the World No. 20 the Netherlands, which took the first set in 35 minutes.

Outside hitter Tom Koops had 14 points, while Bennis Junior Tuinstra and middle blocker Cornelis Luuc Van Der Ent contributed nine points each.

The Netherlands fell to Poland (25-22, 23-25, 19-25, 22-25) but prevailed over Romania (25-23, 26-24, 26-24) and Qatar (25-18, 25-23, 26-28, 25-23) in Pool B play to reach the Round of 16.

The Netherlands is among eight of the 16 teams which qualified to the Round of 16 supported by the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Program.

The others are Czechia, Finland, Tunisia, Belgium, Slovenia, Canada, and Bulgaria. (PNA)