Hot Czechs roar on

Indra, pals book FIVB MWC semis berth

MANILA, Philippines — Czechia survived an upset try by dangerous rival Iran and eked out a 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21 victory yesterday that sealed its historic semifinal entry in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship at the MOA Arena.

The Czechs used their faltering start as a rallying point, asserting themselves in the last three sets to claim the triumph that catapulted them to a breakthrough semis in the quadrennial meet.

Actually, as part of Czechoslovakia, the Czechs recorded a semis finish back in the 1970 edition in Bulgaria.

They’d never made it back to that phase since then or through the dissolution of the country in 1993 that gave birth to Czechia as a republic separate to Slovakia.

“This is a historic moment for us, we will enjoy this,” said Czechia opposite spiker Patrik Indra, who led all hitters with 22 points including 20 off attacks.

Indra vowed to chase more breakthroughs.

“We’ll focus on our next game and we’ll try to extend this amazing run,” he said.

But it’s easier said than done as Czechia will face either one of the two powerhouse teams in World No. 4 United States and World No. 11 Bulgaria, who were playing the last quarterfinal match of the tournament late last night.

The semis are scheduled tomorrow.

The Czechs joined early entrants Poland and Italy in the semis where they are expected to be tested as they have never faced a foe ranked higher than them in the playoff round.