'I want to win more than prize money and leave my name behind'; PBA semifinals set for Thursday
Sruong Pheavy (35, Woori Financial Capital), known as the "Cambodian Express," defeated Kim Ga-young (43, Hana Card) to reach 10 career victories on the LPBA tour.
Sruong claimed the title Wednesday at the LPBA final of the 2026-2027 season's second-leg Hi1 Resort Championship, held at the Grand Hotel Convention Tower of Hi1 Resort in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, defeating Kim by a set score of 4-2 (11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-10).
The win came 10 months after her previous title at last season's third-leg Olbarun Lifestyle Card NH NongHyup Card Charity Championship. She had advanced directly to the final of the fourth-leg SY Veritehomme Championship after that victory, only to lose to Kim — a defeat she avenged Wednesday.
Sruong also became the second player in LPBA history to reach 10 wins, trailing only Kim Ga-young (19 wins). She reached the milestone in her 49th tour appearance since debuting at the 2020-21 season's fifth-leg Welcome Savings Bank WelBank Championship. The victory added 40 million won (about $26,300) to her career earnings, pushing her total past 423.42 million won — second only to Kim, whose career earnings stand at 973.13 million won.
Kim set the third-highest single-match average in LPBA history — a 3.125 average against Ko Eun-gyeong in the round of 64 — and received the "Welcome Top Ranking" award, worth 2 million won, given to the player with the highest single-match average in the tournament.
Sruong took the first two sets to seize early momentum, but Kim fought back to level the match by winning the third and fourth sets 11-6 and 11-3. Sruong then took the fifth set 11-8 and, with the sixth set tied at 10-10, scored the final point to seal a 4-2 set victory.
At the awards ceremony, Sruong said winning titles matters more to her than accumulated prize money. "I want to leave my name behind longer than anyone else through many victories," she said. "The match against Kim Ga-young was really tough, but I think I won by never giving up until the very end."
The final day of the tournament falls on Thursday, with the PBA semifinals and final on the schedule. Kim Young-won (Harim) faces Shin Jeong-ju (Hana Card) in the first semifinal at 1:30 p.m., followed by Kim Jun-tae (Harim) against Ngo Dinh Nai (Vietnam, Huons) at 3:30 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet in a best-of-seven final beginning at 10:30 p.m., with 100 million won on the line.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
