Manila, Sept. 27 -- Bulgaria beat Czechia, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, Saturday to secure the first finals berth in the FIVB Men's World Championship.

Outside hitter Aleksander Nikolov scored 31 off 27 attacks, three aces and a block in the two-hour match before a crowd of 6,896 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Bulgaria, ranked No. 9 in the world, will face the winner between world No. 1 Poland and defending champion Italy on Sunday.

"Incredible! I am lost for words ... We are medalists of this World Championship and I can't believe it! Tomorrow (Sunday_ we are just going to try to color the medal in gold. But we have a medal, so we are happy," the 21-year-old Nikolov, whose parents Vladimir and Maya came to the Philippines, said. ...