WHEN quarterfinals action ends on Thursday night at the Mall of Asia Arena, four teams will remain standing and continue their quest for the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship trophy.
Czechia turned back Iran yesterday 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21 and advanced to the semifinals, joining Poland and Italy, which triumphed in the quarterfinals last Wednesday.
At press time last night, the United States was battling Bulgaria for the last Final Four slot.
The semis will be played on Saturday, weather permitting.
The team that wins on Sunday during the finals will bring home the iconic World Championship trophy.
The trophy stands 42.88 centimeters tall and weighs a hefty nine kilograms.
The 12 individual pieces of the trophy represent the 12 players in a volleyball team’s rotation system, and they converge to form a ball inside the structure.
Colors transition from nickel to gold in the trophy to symbolize a team’s rise to the world title, while its base features the names of past champions.
Production of the prestigious trophy spanned 120 hours of milling, 24 hours of hand polishing and mounting, and 60 hours of 3D programming to come up with the design that reflects the sport’s values of purity, performance, power, precision, and teamwork.
A total of 32 teams began their quest in the World Championship for the first time earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara is inviting fans to step into the action and test their skills in the “Volleyball Experience” at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
First launched during the Paris Olympics where it drew over 120,000 fans, the “Volleyball Experience” has been brought to Manila as part of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship 2025 and will run until September 28, the tournament’s final day.
“If they cannot watch the games, or even before or after attending, they can always come here to enjoy the Volleyball Experience,” said Suzara, who personally visited the interactive exhibit on Thursday ahead of the quarterfinal match between Iran and Czechia at the MOA Arena.
“This was first done in the Paris Olympics. It’s called the Volleyball Experience. This is very good for the fans; this is an experience that all the fans will never miss, especially in the World Championship. For those who have the chance, I encourage them to try it,” he added.
Through the “Volleyball Experience”, fans can try their hand at spiking, serving, or taking part in other fun challenges — all with free entrance — bringing them closer to the sport in a truly interactive way.
The exhibit features three mini volleyball courts with different net heights, a serve challenge that measures the speed of each serve, and a spike challenge with three difficulty levels.
It also features a vertical reach test, where a nearby screen shows the height and reach of some of the tournament’s stars so fans can compare their own spike and block reach, along with a reflex test to challenge their reaction speed. A medic is also on standby to ensure the safety of participants.
Fans can also check out a mural, similar to the Volleyball Art Legacy Project in Parañaque, featuring stars such as Alas Pilipinas’ Bryan Bagunas, Poland’s Tomasz Fornal, Italy’s Simone Giannelli, Brazil’s Ricardo Lucarelli, France’s Jean Patry, Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa, and the USA’s Erik Shoji.
Also on display are signed jerseys from select participating nations in the World Championship, along with signed volleyballs from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2024 Paris Olympics, and the 2025 World Championship.
The “Volleyball Experience” runs through the remaining dates with schedules on September 26 from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and September 27–28 from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Since its opening on September 19, lucky fans have also had the chance to win tickets and other prizes by participating in survey forms.
