The crowd may have been against them as they powered past fan-favorite Japan in their Pool G matchup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Monday afternoon, but Canada captain Nicholas Hoag was full of praise for the electrifying atmosphere created by the fans.
After eliminating Japan from title contention, Hoag and the Canadians rode the high of playing in front of an engaged audience—even if the cheers and gasps were mostly for the players on the other side of the net.
Reflecting on the experience of facing not just a young but determined Japan team, but also a crowd heavily behind their opponents, Hoag described it as a celebration of the sport on the global stage.
“On the court, it felt very calm. Despite all the noise and obviously everyone cheering for Japan, it’s fun. It’s fun to play in an environment like that. I didn’t feel like we were stressed or anything,” Hoag said. “We were very calm and collected, and we stuck to the game plan the whole time, so it was great.”
Although they were outnumbered by the legions of Ryujin Nippon supporters, Team Canada still enjoyed pockets of Pinoy fans backing them, especially in the fan zone.
With one more match left in their preliminary schedule, Hoag and Canada are determined to leave their mark—especially with fellow North American powerhouse USA also in contention.
“We always try to beat [the USA] and to beat the best teams in the world. We have the potential to do it; we just need consistency. You saw it today against one of the best teams in the world, that we can beat them 3-0 despite Japan playing well. We can do something,” Hoag said.
Canada and Hoag will wrap up their pool phase against fellow undefeated side Turkiye on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum.
.png){kind=icon}