June 19 ------ FOR the third straight year, the Philippines will serve as the mecca of world volleyball action. Eight of the best teams see action avid Filipino fans as they duke it out in crucial Week 3 of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) men’s tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Reigning Olympic champion France (world No. 7), who will host this year’s Summer Games, along with fan favorites Japan (world No. 3) and USA (world No. 5) headline the cast along with No. 4 Brazil, No. 11 Germany, No. 12 Canada, No. 13 Netherlands, and No. 17 Iran compete in the tournament that runs until June 23. The event will serve as a prelude to the county's hosting of the prestigious FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship next year for the first time ever. “Every year, we get better and better in hosting. We need to do a lot of work for the men’s championships next year with 32 teams but the VNL has been a showcase, especially for Filipino fans for the last three years,” said PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara, joined by players and coaches during the VNL presser at the Makati Shangri-La. “We want to continue this tradition for the VNL and the Filipino fans.” he added.
This will be the return of Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan to the Philippines after also seeing action last year side by side Italy, China, Slovenia and eventual 2023 VNL champion Poland. Team USA, led by 2023 VNL Best Setter Micah Christenson, will mark its Manila debut with high anticipation from local fans.
France (No. 4), Japan (No. 5), Brazil (No. 6) and Canada (No. 7) currently sit inside the Top 8 of the VNL standings after two legs with reigning world champion Italy, Slovenia and Poland leading the race so far. Germany, USA, the Netherlands and Team USA sit at 11th, 12th, 13th and 16th place, respectively – making it an expected fiery action as they aim to climb the ladder entering the homestretch of the preliminary phase. The Netherlands and Brazil open the action at 5 p.m. on Tuesday followed by the main game between Japan and Canada at 8:30 p.m. Germany and France then take the court at 3 p.m. before the duel between USA and Iran at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
And the players can’t wait to delight the Filipino fans. “It’s a pleasure to be here. It’s our first year here. We felt a lot of love online and on social media from Filipino fans so be finally be here and experience it first hand is our pleasure. We’re excited to experience it all,” said USA captain Christenson. “We’re happy to be here again and we’re excited to play in front of Filipino fans,” added Japan’s ace Yuki Ishikawa, one of the two Best Outside Hitters in the last VNL finals.
Only the Top 8 teams will qualify in the VNL Final Round in Poland but there’s more to it than those coveted spots. With the VNL serving as the final volleyball tournament before the Paris Olympics, five tickets based on the FIVB world rankings are up for grabs among the determined squads, especially to those who haven’t qualified yet. Only seven countries – host France, Germany, Brazil, USA, Japan, Poland and Canada – have booked their Olympic seats so far. That should be enough heat to fire up the remaining squads in front of Filipino fans raring to see them up close and strut their stuff in the biggest stage. “It’s amazing to be here again. Teams are preparing for the Olympics to we’ll have the best games in the world this week here in the VNL,” said Brazil setter Bruno Rezende.
Source: spin.ph
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