Before joining the Petro Gazz Angels, head coach Koji Tsuzurabara had a three-year stint handling the Chinese Taipei national team.
Kaohsiung Taipower’s Pool B sweep over the Petro Gazz Angels on Monday wasn’t just a victory that propelled them into the knockout quarterfinals of the 2025 AVC Champions League in Manila.
In some ways, it was a reunion between current Angels tactician Koji Tsuzurabara and some of the players he handled during his time as Chinese Taipei’s head coach from 2019 to 2022.
“Ah, yes, the Taiwan team! [Some of them] were my former players, and when I was coaching the national team, some players were high school players,” Tsuzurabara shared moments after the Angels’ Champions League opener against the Chinese Taipei-based spikers.
“So, at that time, every day, we had around eight or nine hours of practice. So I was looking forward to today’s game, so I could check the improvement of those players.”
Among the handful of players that Tsuzurabara mentored in Chinese Taipei is Chang Li Yun, an outside hitter who now serves as head coach for Taipower.
Chang, though, got the better of her former mentor on Tuesday, with Taipower relying on fundamentally sound play and veteran composure to score a 25-15, 25-16, 19-25, 25-20 victory over Petro Gazz at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Still, the soft-spoken mentor admitted feeling the nerves in her first coaching duel with Tsuzuabara.
“I was nervous, because I was his player before and I am a coach now, so he doesn’t handle me anymore, but I just trusted in my players,” Chang said in a separate post-game interview.
As nervous as she was, however, Chang did try to set aside any form of familiarity with Tsuzurabara. Even if it was a special moment between the student and her mentor, getting a win was most important, which required the highest level of composure throughout the match.
“Koji-san and I were in one team before, and I was his player. I think I don’t focus on that, so I can talk to my players on how they can work against Petro Gazz,” she said.
Tsuzurabara tipped his hat off to Taipower following the game as he took responsibility for the Angels’ opening day loss.
“In today’s game, everyone in Taipower had high energy on service, defense, block, and they were aggressive as they showcased fighting spirit,” said the Japanese mentor. “But we at Petro Gazz fell flat today, so I’m taking full responsibility for our loss.
While Taipower enters the quarterfinals as Pool B’s top seed, Petro Gazz will now face Hong Kong’s Hip Hing for a ticket to join the nine-time Top Volleyball League champs in the next round.
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.