Poland sweeps Japan to cap Philippine leg of VNL 2023

World no. 1 Poland swept local crowd favorite Japan, 25-17, 25-19, 25-18, to cap the Philippine leg of the 2023 Men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Poland pulled away early in the third set and led 8-4, before the margin ballooned to eight, 16-8, which gave the Polish team control of the game until the final serve.

Wilfredo Leon Venero had 16 points off 10 attacks, three aces, and three blocks, while Lukasz Kaczmarek and Aleksander Sliwka had 12 and 11 points, respectively, as Poland improved to 10-2, tied with Japan.

Tatsunori Otsuka led Japan with 11 points, while Yuji Nishida had nine points.

Earlier, Canada defeated China, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-18, while Slovenia swept The Netherlands, 25-20, 32-30, 25-22.

The VNL is expected to return to the Philippines next year, according to Philippine National Volleyball Federation Ramon "Tats" Suzara.

After Week 3 of the VNL which will end on July 10, the quarterfinals of the men's games will start on July 19.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News