Japan during a game against Poland in the Volleyball Nations League in Manila. MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—After the last match of the Volleyball Nations League in Manila, Poland and Japan expressed their interest in playing again in the volleyball-crazed country.
Aleksander Sliwka, who helped the Polish notch a sweeping win over Japan at the close of the Manila leg at Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday with 11 points, said that they would love to come back and show out in front of Filipino fans again next year.
“It was amazing to play here in the Philippines, especially today. [To see] all of them in that full house of over 10,000, I think, made us really happy to play here in the Philippines,” said Sliwka after their 25-17, 25-19, 25-18 victory.
“We are really happy to play in the tournament here. We didn’t expect a lot of people to be crazy about volleyball [here] so it was great and I hope we come back here in the future.”
Wilfredo Leon Venero topscored for Poland with 16 points while Lucasz Kaczmarek followed suit with 12.
Players from the Ryujin Nippon shared the same sentiment.
Yuki Ishikawa also said that the Japanese squad would be pleased to showcase their talents again here.
“I was so happy to be here because the crowd is amazing. We lost two games but I wanted to show everyone four wins but we couldn’t. Still, I’m so happy to play here,” said the outside hitter.
“I expect to play here also next year so I hope we play well (in 2024) like we did this season,” he added.
Ran Takahashi, a fan favorite by Filipinos, was unable to play in the last match in Manila. Tatsunori Otsuka was the leading scorer for Ryujin Nippon with 11 points.
Fortunately for Poland, Japan and other countries who want to relive the VNL’s atmosphere in Manila, Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara confirmed the return of the international competition in the country next year.
“For sure, we’ll have VNL next year but I do not know if it’s men’s or women’s but there were discussions regarding bringing the men’s back of the interest and enthusiasm (of the fans),” said Suzara.