"Six years of patience bear fruit": Hyumons wins first round in inaugural PBA team league; powerful duo of Kang Dong-gung and Choi Sung-won proves effective

*This content was translated by AI.

PBA team league H-Uon secured its first team league round championship in just six seasons since its founding.

Hyoon was defeated by NH Nonghyup Card with a set score of 4-3 in the eighth-day match of the 'Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League Hwaseong Special City Tour 2026-2027' tournament held on the 19th at the indoor gymnasium of Hwaseong Comprehensive Sports Town in Hwaseong Special City, Gyeonggi Province.

Hyoom, riding an eight-game winning streak, secured the championship early with 20 points, regardless of the outcome of the final Round 2 match against Hanacar.

It was a dramatic championship victory. Hyumons lost the initiative to NH Nonghyup Card early in the match. In the first set, Dong-gung Kang and Robinson Morales (Colombia) lost to Jae-ho Jo and Minkam (Vietnam) 7-11. In the second set, Ye-eun Kim and Han-sol Seo defeated Bo-mi Kim and Soobin Jeong 9-5 (6 innings), tying the match, but Hyumons then lost both the third and fourth sets consecutively, falling behind with a set score of 1-3.

It was 'Hulk' Kang Dong-gung who turned the tide in a disadvantaged situation. Kang Dong-gung defeated Ma Min-kum in five sets, winning 11-6 in just three innings to tie the match at one set apiece. In the sixth set, Kim Se-yeon beat Kim Min-a 9-5 (in five innings), forcing the match into a decisive seventh set. In the fateful seventh set, Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Nai defeated Dao Van Li 11-7 (in six innings), securing a dramatic comeback victory.

Hoom, founded for the 2021-2022 season, has never reached the postseason and has remained in the lower ranks every season. Last season, it finished at the bottom of the regular league standings, further damaging its pride.

However, ahead of this season, the team emerged as a championship contender by signing Kang Dong-gung, along with Ngo, Kim Ye-eun, and Seo Han-sol in the draft. In particular, the formation of the "strongest combination" of Kang Dong-gung and Choi Sung-won drew significant attention. Although leader Choi Sung-won was unable to attend due to personal reasons in the first round, the team recorded a sixth-place finish (5 wins, 4 losses, 13 points), showing potential. When Choi Sung-won returned in the second round, the team became complete. Hyoom continued its unstoppable progress in the second round and finally rose to the top of the standings.

Hyoon has secured a championship in the second round of this season and, for the first time since its founding, has also qualified for the postseason. Hyoon had finished first in the second round during the 2021-2022 season, but at that time, there was no system for awarding round championships.

Hyumons, having secured the round championship, will aim for a historic feat against Hanacar in the final match of Round 2. If Hyumons defeats Hanacar, it will become the second team to achieve a perfect record across all matches in a single round, following NH Hana Card's undefeated run in Round 3 of the 2023-2024 season. Simultaneously, the victory would mark their tenth consecutive win, making Hyumons the third team in Team League history to reach ten straight wins, after NH Hana Card and SK Rent a Car.

Meanwhile, Crown Haite, which trailed closely behind Hyoone in second place with six wins and two losses (16 points), defeated Harim with a set score of 4-2 but fell behind in the race for the championship. Hanacard surged to three consecutive victories by defeating High1 Resort with a set score of 4-1, while Welcome Savings Bank escaped a three-game losing streak by beating Breakers 4-2. SW also turned around Our Financial Capital with a 4-1 victory.

On the final day of the tournament on the 20th, the Welcome Savings Bank-Harim match kicks off at 12 p.m., followed by simultaneous games between Hana Card-Hyoonsoo and SW-NH Agricultural Cooperative Card at 3 p.m. The tournament concludes with the Breakers-High1 Resort match at 6 p.m. and the Crown Haite-Our Financial Capital match at 9 p.m.

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*This content was translated by AI.