Why Japan’s Kurashiki Ablaze want to return to PVL

MANILA, Philippines — Following an unblemished run capped by a 2023 PVL Invitational Conference championship, Japan’s Kurashiki Ablaze admit they want to return to the Philippines soon.

If invited by Premier Volleyball League organizers anew, the Japanese third-division squad said it will “100 percent” come back after a historic run where the Ablaze became the first foreign squad to rule the league. 

In the seven games that the Ablaze played at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig, the team always talked about the crowd. 

During the knockout finals, Kurashiki’s Kyoka Ohshima said the team felt intimidated by Creamline’s pink-clad supporters who even brought large pictures of their idols.

“We enjoyed the number of audience, we felt pressure but we came together as a team,” said Ohshima, the Finals MVP.

“We are kind of envious of the audience turnout, it’s always packed,” the Japanese setter aded.

A total of 8,223 spectators witnessed the finale that went the distance, and ended with Asaka Tamaru’s absurd service ace that dropped exactly at the baseline for a 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 15-13 finish.

Tamaru also took some lessons from the Filipino demeanor.

“I saw that Filipino players are very smiley, even though it was a bad situation, they still smiled,” she pointed out.

“When we face a similar situation, we are kinda let down, but we will just smile moving forward.”

Appreciative of the love the Philippines showered them, the Japanese club team decided to reciprocate it both on and off the court.

Last Saturday, the team conducted an outreach in Tondo, according to head coach Hideo  Suzuki.

The team also plans to invite Filipino players to train with them.

“I want to have a relationship between Japan and Filipino volleyball,” said Suzuki. – Rappler.com