"I don't think we'll lose." Hyungs, first-ever 10-game sweep to win the championship... Top of the standings for the first time in six years – 'newcomer' Kang Dong-gung wins his first round MVP

*This content was translated by AI.

Hyungs, who won the second round of the PBA Team League, finished the tournament with a perfect record across all rounds and a 10-game winning streak by winning every match up to the final game.

On the 20th, at the indoor gymnasium of Hwaseong Comprehensive Sports Town in Hwaseong Special City, Gyeonggi Province, Hyungs defeated Hana Card in a tightly contested five-set match with a set score of 4-3 on the final day of the "Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League Hwaseong Special City Tour 2026-2027."

Having already secured the championship with a win over NH Agribank Card on the 19th, Hyungs completed their sweep of all second-round matches by also defeating Hana Card. Following NH Agribank Card's perfect-record (nine-game winning streak) victory in the third round of the 2023-2024 season, Hyungs became only the second team in PBA Team League history to win a round with a perfect record. In the current 10-team system, Hyungs is the first team to achieve a perfect-record championship.

Additionally, Hyungs became the third team to achieve a 10-game winning streak, following NH Agribank Card (2023-2024 season) and SK Rent-a-Car (2025-2026 season).

With this round championship, Hyungs secured a postseason berth, joining five other regular-round champions including Woori Financial Capital. At the same time, they also won the 10th million won prize money awarded to round champions starting this season.

The second-round MVP was claimed by 'newcomer' Kang Dong-gung. Joining Hyungs as the first pick in the second round of this season's draft, Kang recorded a 9-4 record (6-1 in singles, 3-3 in doubles) across 13 matches with an average of 2.000, leading Hyungs to victory. Having played since the inaugural season of the PBA Team League, Kang became the first player to win the team league MVP award.

The path to Hyungs' perfect-record championship was not easy. The Kang Dong-gung-Choi Sung-won pairing lost their first set 4-11 (4 innings) to Murat Naji Choklu (Turkey) and Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (Vietnam). In the second set, Kim Ye-eun and Seo Han-sol were defeated 1-9 (6 innings) by Kim Ga-young and Kim Jin-a without being able to mount any real resistance, losing two sets.

In the third set, Robinson Morales (Colombia) turned the tide with a 15-11 (11 innings) victory over Q. Nguyen. In the fourth set, Kang Dong-gung and Choi Jimin defeated Shin Jeong-joo and Han Seol-gi 9-8 (10 innings), bringing the match back to even. In the fifth set, Ngo Dinh Nhai secured a decisive 11-0 win over Choklu in just three innings, completing a comeback to take a 3-2 lead in sets.

Although Kim Se-yeon lost the sixth set 6-9 (8 innings) to Kim Ga-young, leader Choi Sung-won stepped up in the seventh set and defeated Han Ji-seung 11-7 (7 innings), preserving their winning streak.

In a post-championship press conference, Hyungs leader Choi Sung-won said, "I didn't expect this day would come. I'm overwhelmed with emotion. It seems we achieved great results thanks to our teammates' efforts." He added, "Our team is on a 10-game winning streak, and if possible, I'd like to break the record for most consecutive wins. We'll aim to surpass NH Agribank Card's 14-game streak and reach 15. With our current form, I don't think we'll lose."

Kim Se-yeon, a founding member of Hyungs, stated, "Captain (Choi Sung-won) provided strong leadership, and Kang Dong-gung offered excellent support. We worked hard to unite existing members with newly recruited ones, which led to this result. I'm so happy. I never thought such a day would come for me."

MVP Kang Dong-gung expressed his satisfaction: "I joined Hyungs ahead of this season because it was the team I truly wanted to join. During my amateur days, I won the World Three-Cushion Team Championship alongside Choi Sung-won as part of the 'strongest pairing.' It feels like those good memories have been revived. We also worked hard with the remaining teammates and achieved great results."

Choi Sung-won remarked, "Previously, individual personalities were strong, and there were times when unity was lacking. Now, we feel like a complete team. The unity is excellent. During matches, I even thought, 'We're winning again?' With our current form, I don't think we'll lose. It's completely different from before."

With the second round of the team league concluding with Hyungs' victory, PBA announced that the third round will be held in Pohang, Gyeongbuk Province, this September. Prior to that, the Dream Tour (Division 2) fourth stage will take place from the 29th of this month to the 1st of next month at the "Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium" in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.