Team Canada said that they zeroed in on what they want to do as a team as they head into the Round of 16 of the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship.
Team Canada have secured not only a spot in the Round of 16, but also stayed true to their identity as they drubbed Japan, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22, in the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Monday.
Going up against world no. 7 Ryujin Nippon, Canada stuck to what they bring to the table and held steadfast to what they believe is the team’s “brand of volleyball.”
After the match, top scorer Sharone Vernon-Evans underscored the importance of focusing on what they can control as they aim for a deep run in the World Championship — a tournament where their best result saw them finish at 7th place in 2014.
[RELATED: Canada sends Japan packing early, seals Round of 16 berth in FIVB Men’s World Championship]
“I think today, we played really well and we’re very disciplined and that’s what we wanted to do going forward. I think we played our brand of volleyball and like kind of our identity of what we wanna be,” he said.
“Now we go against Turkiye and we’re gonna prepare for that. Definitely, take rest today and prepare for that match but we’re excited to try to take first place in the pool.”
Composure at the center
Against Japan, Canada had another opponent to deal with: the crowd.
The clear favorite for the fans in the stands at the Araneta Coliseum, Canada stayed poised, even during sets where Japan threatened to comeback late.
In set 2, Japan saved four set points to get within a point of Canada, 23-24, after an attack error from Nicholas Hoag. Thankfully for the Canadians, Ran Takahashi committed a crucial service error that gifted them the set.
But when it came to closing out their foes, Canada had learned their lesson.
Sharone Vernon-Evans led the cavalry for Team Canada in a win over Japan. | Photo: RM Chua / One Sports
An error from Yuki Ishikawa gave Canada breathing room late as they led, 22-18. But Nippon once again staged a late-set flurry as they inched closer, 22-23, off of an attack from Larry Evbade-Dan.
The Canadians didn’t falter, though, as Isaac Heslinga and Vernon-Evans provided the finishing touches with back-to-back points to send Japan packing in a straight sets win, 25-22.
After the match, Vernon-Evans spoke of their mental toughness.
“Yeah, I think, you know, we have to just manage and I think the word we use is composure. We stayed very composed, I think throughout the game, and that was important for us.” he said.
“We knew that [Japan] could get hot really late and their momentum would pick up but we had to stay calm in that moment. I think that for us, that’s big character growth and we want to do that going forward so very proud of the team for that.”
Vernon-Evans finished with 14 points built off of 12 attacks, one block, and one ace while skipper Nicholas Hoag added 13 markers.
Takashi paced Japan, who exited the World Championship in the first round twice in the last three editions, with 11 points.
Canada now eyes a sweep of Pool G against fellow undefeated team Turkiye on Wednesday, September 17.
Japan, meanwhile, wraps up its trip to Manila with a match against Libya (0-2) in the final match of the pool at 9:30 p.m. also on Wednesday.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.