While the rest of Team Chile had already returned home following their 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship campaign, Noe Aravena and his family decided to stay a little longer to explore and experience the Philippines.
Aravena, Chile’s second-leading scorer in the global tournament, traveled to El Nido, Palawan, with his mother and brother before returning to Manila just in time for the quarterfinals.
He plans to watch the remainder of the competition up to the championship match on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“My brother and my mother came here to watch me, so we already planned a little vacation. We went to El Nido, Palawan, and we just came back to Manila today,” said Aravena on Thursday during the USA-Bulgaria quarterfinal match.
“El Nido was good—a bit rainy, but still good. Still amazing, still a very beautiful place, and I recommend it for people to go,” added the 6-foot-2 outside spiker.
With his vacation over, the 23-year-old Aravena now looks to maximize his time in Manila by learning from the teams still battling in the World Championship.
Defending champion Italy will face World No. 1 Poland in the semifinals, while Czechia takes on Bulgaria in the other bracket on Friday.
For Aravena, watching the world’s best is an opportunity to accelerate his growth as a player.
“It’s highly important—I can learn a lot of things from these guys. They’ve been playing for a long time and they’re really good players. For an athlete like me, just watching the sport I play is valuable because I can learn and study,” said the Chilean indoor and beach volleyball national team member.
.png){kind=icon}