– I am very surprised at how the tournament went in Manila. Great interest, great fans, great organization. I will be crossing my fingers for Filipino volleyball – says Marcin Janusz.

The Poland national team playmaker and his teammates completed the 2023 Nations League regular stage with a 3-0 win over Japan on Sunday. A very sure and convincing victory. The Japanese, who have lost only once in eleven games before the clash against the Whites-Reds, this time did not have much to say.

– All the elements worked well in our team, and when it does, it’s difficult for any opponent to play against us – Janusz says about the encounter. – We put a lot of pressure on the Japanese with our efficient service and attacking game. From the moment we ‘stepped away’ from our opponents in the first set, we controlled the match until the end. We are very happy with such a victory before the next final tournament in Gdańsk. It not only gave us a lot, not only in terms of the quarter-final seed, but also had a big impact on our mood.

For Janusz, the games in the Philippines were the first games for the Polish national team this season. Grupa Azoty player ZAKSY Kędzierzyn-Koźle was one of the last players in our national team, next to Aleksander Śliwka, Łukasz Kaczmarek and Jakub Popiwczak, who entered the Nations League.

– We had quite a long break to play on emotions and under pressure, so we took into account that in the first game our game might be a bit nervous. And in fact, in the lost sets with Slovenia, there was some nervousness. However, this break was necessary and brought us a lot. Thanks to the possibility of training longer in Spała, we feel much better than at the end of a difficult league season – underlines the quarterback of the Polish team.

The whole tournament in Manila was the best performance of the Whites and Reds in the main stage of VNL. They first beat Slovenia when their rivals were already leading 2-0, then won brilliantly against Brazil (3-1) and did not lose a single set against Canada and Japan.

“I’m happy that we are growing with each game. The Manila tournament also showed that we have a very wide squad. In the meetings with Slovenia and Brazil, the substitutes ‘made the difference’. It is important that if one of us is not well, we make a change and the team does not lose quality.There are few teams in the world with such a large group of world-class players – stresses Janusz.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Under the Net – Poland beats Brazil. Discover the backstage of a great victory!

Grupa Azoty player ZAKSY in an interview with WP SportoweFakty also talks about his cooperation with Wilfredo Leon, who in the first joint matches of these two national team volleyball players was very good. Meetings with Brazil or Japan showed that Janusz and Leon quickly found a common language on the pitch.

– Wilfredo has such conditions that sometimes there is nothing to do, just give him a comfortable ball, because he can do anything with it. I am glad that there are positive opinions about our early cooperation. However, we know that we still have a few things to tweak. There are times that you just have to experience together on the pitch to know what you can expect from each other.

In Manila, not only the performance of the Polish team impressed, but also the atmosphere during the matches at the Mall of Asia Arena. Saturday’s match between the Whites and Reds and Canada was watched by more than 7.5 thousand spectators from the stands. Sunday with Japan – more than 10.5 thousand.

– Something amazing. I didn’t expect it to be like this,” he admits.
– The national team of the Philippines did not participate in the tournament and the interest was huge. The Filipino fans were very involved in the encouragement, and in the conversations with us, they showed that they know us a lot. They knew for me that I was playing for ZAKS, that our club had won the Champions League for the third time in a row. You can see that the people who came to the games live and love volleyball every day.

– The development potential of our discipline is enormous here – underlines the representative of Poland. – Big interest, big fans, big organization, big fans. I’m very surprised how the tournament went and I hope it wasn’t the last one played in the Philippines. I’ll be crossing my fingers for Filipino Volleyball and happily coming back.

Our volleyball players will play the next match in Gdańsk. There, in the Tri-City Ergo Arena, the final tournament of the Nations League 2023 (July 19-23) will be played. The Poles’ quarter-final rivals will most likely be the Brazilians. Unless Bulgaria beat the USA on Monday morning Polish time – then Nikola Grbic’s side will face Slovenia.

“Whoever we face in the quarter-finals will be a tough opponent. Brazil are always in form in these big matches and it is very difficult to beat them. And Slovenia is a troublesome rival for us. Our last matches, however, have shown that if we play at our high level, we are capable of winning against anyone – stresses Janusz.

Read also:
“We played the best game.” What comments after the Polish match!
Slovenia robbed rivals of Nations League hope