PNVF president Ramon ‘Tats’ Suzara apologized to people ‘he may have hurt’ during the Philippines’ hosting of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
Without directly addressing any of the glaring issues that clouded the tournament, Suzara admitted how dealing with pressure and high expectations may have resulted to him ruffling feathers of parties he didn’t disclose.
“Kung mayroon akong nasaktahan sa inyo, pasensya na because all the pressures are here,” Suzara said shortly after the conclusion of the global conclave.
“I always need to have a positive support sa inyong lahat because it will bring our country to the highest level in volleyball,” he added, referring to members of the local media.
The glaring issue Suzara failed to explicitly mention was the abrupt revocation of the credentials of SPIN.ph to cover the remainder of the competition due to ‘negative reports critical of the event.’
Other media outlets such as Rappler were also reprimanded for their reportage on the low crowd turnout for the opening ceremony.
Through it all, Suzara still took pride in the FIVB’s ‘perfect’ grade to the Philippines as Men’s World Championship hosts.
“They say it's the best ever [World Championship], unforgettable, but we still need to improve a lot in some areas, but I think we have given our best,” Suzara explained.
“There's still many things but as of now, we had a score of 10 out of 10 and I’m sure we can do better.
“From transportation, wala kami narinig […] All the players and the coaches are all high praise sa atin, ‘yung support ng tao, ‘yung fans.”
The volleyball chief even took a subtle jab at the country’s most recent World Cup hosting in another sport that didn’t engage spectators as much as it did this years.
“’Yung fans talaga ang number one. Kino-compare nga nila, bakit kasi ‘yung sa isang sport, nag-host tayo ng World Cup, hindi masyadong [nagkaroon ng] engagement sa fans. Dito may [fan] experience eh,” Suzara said.
Run it back, four years from now
That endearing pat on the back from FIVB president Fabio Azevedo seemed to be all it took to push Suzara to try and do it all over again in four years’ time, notwithstanding the two-billion peso price tag to host this year.
The Philippines won its bid to host the 2029 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship against three other countries.
The clincher in that bid? The FIVB’s ‘perfect grade’ to the Philippines in hosting the 2025 Men’s World Championship.
“There was a bid. In fact, tayo naman, we were just there, but there was Turkey, Japan and one more. I couldn't remember sa board meeting. Pang-apat lang tayo,” Suzara said.
“But the board decided because of nakikita niyo yung hosting natin. Tuwang-tuwa sila sa airport pa lang, nilalagyan na kasi ng lace, may tugtog, so they were so happy. Transportation, efficient, lahat.
“They feel that the Philippines needs another World Championship, women naman kasi alaman nila, mas popular yung women natin kaysa sa men.”
In a nutshell, the federation’s central thrust of going through another World Championship hosting cycle, in Suzara’s words, is ‘not all about hosting the World Championship but also about helping the national teams to improve.’
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