'Perfect even without Heo Soo-bong': Lim Sung-jin scores 13! Korean men's volleyball shuts out Philippines 3-0 [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean Nam Ja-bae-gu (CEO) team, led by coach Isanaye Ramirez, started their first match at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on a high note by decisively defeating the Philippines without deploying their key attacker Heo Soo-bong (28, Hyundai Capital).

South Korea (world ranking No. 25) dominated the Philippines (world ranking No. 113) in the first round of Group D at the men's volleyball tournament held on the 27th at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with a 3-0 victory (25-16, 27-25, 25-22).

This was a shutout win right from the opening match of the Asian Games. More significantly, it demonstrated that the team could hold off even one set without relying on Heo Soo-bong, the core of the national team's offense.

After taking the first set, South Korea struggled in the second as their middle block faltered. They conceded points repeatedly on quick attacks, pushing the game into deuce before ultimately securing the set following a video review that ruled out an attack by Philippines' Isang-hyeon (Korean Army) from going out of bounds at 26-25.

Having narrowly won the second set, South Korea took control in the third with Lim Sung-jin (Korean Army) leading the charge. Lim scored a team-high 13 points, while Jung Han-yong and Im Dong-hyuk (both from Korean Air) each added 11 points to secure the shutout victory.

South Korea aims for redemption in this tournament. At the previous 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, they finished seventh, failing to win a men's volleyball medal for the first time since the 1966 Bangkok Games. Their streak of consecutive podium finishes from 1966 through the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games was also broken.

The atmosphere is different from three years ago. Prior to this Asian Games, South Korea reached the semifinals at the Asian Men's Volleyball Championship by defeating China 3-1 and then secured third place with a five-set victory over Australia in the bronze medal match. This marked their first Asian Championship bronze since 2017, nine years later.

Heo Soo-bong was one of the players who led the offense back then. He contributed 42 points alongside Im Dong-hyuk in the China match and scored a joint-high 28 points against Australia. However, in their first match against the Philippines, South Korea managed to play without him while also successfully managing player stamina for the remaining group stage games.

Sixteen nations are participating in this men's volleyball tournament, divided into four groups for the preliminary round. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. Alongside the Philippines, South Korea is placed in Group D with Taiwan and China. Having easily passed their first hurdle, South Korea will face Taiwan on the 28th and China on the 29th in sequence.

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*This content was translated by AI.