Japan eyes triumph in front of ‘home’ fans
The Ryujin Nippon left Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday with mixed emotions: Blessed and cursed.
Japan and the Philippines may be miles apart in the world rankings, but in the 2025 FIVB (International Volleyball Federation) Men’s World Championship, they have one thing in common: They will both be home squads in the tournament.
It’s probably why a sweeping loss at the hands of Turkiye didn’t get Japan so down on Saturday.
“They (Filipino fans) give us a lot of energy. We always get power from them,” Ran Takahashi said, still with a smile despite the 25-19, 25-23, 25-19 defeat.
However, that smile quickly changed to a more focused gaze when he expressed his intent to win in front of the passionate and raucous crowd—if only to repay the way the Filipino crowd supports the team.
“I’m so happy to be here … but I want to win in front of them. This is so special for me. I’m very happy to be here and play here. For the next game, I want to win in front of them,” Takahashi said.
Turkiye celebrated not just the victory, but also coach Slobodan Kovac’s birthday. Still, the double celebration failed to draw the shower of attention that rained on the Ryujin Nippon.
Despite the Turkish masterclass in the opening sets, fans clad with Takahashi and Yuki Ishikawa jerseys were still adamant in pushing their heroes to mount a comeback.
Fans with Yuji Nishida jerseys were also visible from the lower box to general admission seats. This, even without the presence of the Japanese ace in the Nippon lineup, due to undisclosed reasons.
Ironically, what Japan lacked inside the taraflex was the one they had a surplus of outside of it.
“That’s our strong point,” Takahashi said of the squad’s ball reception.
“We have to come out with more receptions and aggressive defense but today, we didn’t have those. We need it for the next game.”
Even the 7,518 spectators around the Big Dome couldn’t help Japan with its difficulties inside the court.
The Turks successfully landed 37 attacks on Japan’s floor defense, all while suffocating the Japanese with eight blocks and seven aces.
Kento Miyaura and Yuki Ishikawa registered 13 and 10 points, respectively, but to no avail.
Ramazan Efe Mandiraci’s 17 points and Adis Lagumdzija’s 15 points led Turkiye.
The Ryujin Nippon still have a chance to repay the Filipinos’ support on Monday when they take on fellow powerhouse Canada.
“Last year, they won over us (in the Volleyball Nations League) but … things change a lot so we will see,” Ishikawa said.
