The men’s Daido Life SV.League in Japan returns to full-swing action this weekend with a full set of five double headers on Saturday, February 28, and Sunday, March 1, highlighted by a stellar clash between Tokyo Great Bears and Osaka Bluteon.
SV-Men 2025-2026
Tokyo against Osaka in stellar SV.League clash coming up
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Published 06:01, 27 Feb 2026
Miguel Lopez against Bartosz Kurek
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Riding on a three-game winning streak, Polish star opposite Bartosz Kurek, Slovenian star middle blocker Jan Kozamernik, Argentinean star outside hitter Luciano Vicentin and the rest of their Tokyo Great Bears teammates are set to entertain the squad of Osaka Bluteon with stellar presence around opposite Yuji Nishida, French setter Antoine Brizard and Cuban outside Miguel Lopez, with thousands of fans expected in the stands of the iconic Olympic venue Ariake Coliseum. The matches will serve off at 14:05 local time (05:05 UTC) on both Saturday and Sunday. Tokyo aim to consolidate their position within the quarterfinal playoff zone of the current standings, where they occupy fifth place on a 14-14 win-loss ratio and 41 points. Osaka, on the other hand, placed second on 23-5 and 68, hope to keep their steady position in the top two, which would eventually send them directly to the semifinals. When Bluteon hosted Great Bears in December, they won both games, but the first was pushed to four sets and the second – to five.
In another high-profile double header, Hiroshima Thunders will welcome JTEKT Stings Aichi to the Tottori Prefectural Gymnasium at 14:05 (05:05) on Saturday and at 13:05 (04:05) on Sunday. Both teams are running within the quarterfinal playoff zone of the table. Hiroshima are in sixth place on 12-16 and 37, while Aichi stand fourth on 17-11 and 49. It will be the third double header between the two teams this season. In each of the previous two, they traded three-point victories.
Defending champions and table leaders Suntory Sunbirds Osaka will host the team that stunned Hiroshima with two shutouts last weekend, Voreas Hokkaido. The games will be played at the Asue Arena Osaka at 13:05 (04:05) on both competition days. Suntory Sunbirds convincingly top the standings on 27-1 and 78, while Voreas are just below the cut-off for the playoffs, in seventh place on 9-19 and 28. The club from Hokkaido has never been able to win a league match against Suntory, who swept both their encounters on the road in November in straight sets.
Wolfdogs Nagoya will entertain Nagano Tridents at the Happiness Arena on Saturday and Sunday at 13:05 (04:05). Nagoya are third in the table on 17-11 and 51, on a four-game winning streak, while Nagano trail bottom, in 10th place on 3-25, sliding down a negative run of 21 consecutive losses. Wolfdogs won all four previous encounters with Tridents this season, but in one of them, they were pushed to five sets by their hosts from Nagano.
Table neighbors Toray Arrows Shizuoka and Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers will take to the court at the Mishima Citizen Gymnasium at 14:05 (05:05) on both days of the weekend. Hosts Toray Arrows are second from the bottom, in ninth place, while Sakai are just above them, in eighth place on set ratios. They stand on 9-19 and 27 each. The two teams engaged in two five-set duels when Sakai hosted Toray Arrows in January, with the visitors from Shizuoka emerging victorious in both tie-breakers.
Men’s SV.League 2025-2026 17th leg:
Feb 28, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Nagano Tridents
Feb 28, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Voreas Hokkaido
Feb 28, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Feb 28, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears v Osaka Bluteon
Feb 28, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Mar 01, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Nagano Tridents
Mar 01, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Voreas Hokkaido
Mar 01, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Mar 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears v Osaka Bluteon
Mar 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
