NH Nonghyup Card stormed to two straight wins and took sole possession of first place in the PBA Team League.
On Monday, at Gwangmyeong Citizens' Gymnasium in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, NH Nonghyup Card defeated Welcome Savings Bank 4-1 in sets on the second day of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League Gwangmyeong Tour 2026-2027. The result lifted NH Nonghyup Card (2 wins, 6 points) past second-place Hana Card (2 wins, 5 points) into the lead.
Having beaten Hi One Resort 4-2 on opening day, NH Nonghyup Card was equally dominant against Welcome Savings Bank. Team leader Jo Jae-ho was the driving force behind both victories. Pairing with Oh Tae-jun in the first set, Jo dispatched Semi Sayginer (Turkey) and Jo Geon-hwi 11-8 in six innings. With the match tied 1-1, Jo returned in the third set to beat Daniel Sanchez (Spain) 15-6 in eight innings, giving his team a 2-1 set lead.
Oh, who had shared the first-set win with Jo, teamed with Jeong Su-bin in the fourth set in mixed doubles and eliminated Sanchez and Yong Hyeon-ji 9-5 in five innings. Ma Min Cam (Vietnam) then closed out the match in the fifth set, defeating Sayginer 11-3 in 11 innings.
NH Nonghyup Card finished sixth last season, missing the postseason for the third consecutive year, but the team is targeting a revival after signing Oh Tae-jun and Dao Van Ly (Vietnam) ahead of this season. The team will look to extend its streak to three wins against SY on Wednesday.
The Breakers, who had won their debut match, fell to Hi One Resort in five sets on Monday, ending their winning run. Defending champion Hana Card kept pace with a 4-1 win over SY to also move to 2-0.
Harim, which had edged SY in five sets on Monday, beat Crown Haitai again in five sets that same day. Woori Financial Capital also picked up its first win of the season, defeating Huons 4-2 in sets, while Huons dropped to 0-2.
On Wednesday, the third day of the tournament, play begins at noon with Harim taking on Welcome Savings Bank. At 3 p.m., NH Nonghyup Card faces SY at the same time as Hi One Resort meets Hana Card. Woori Financial Capital plays the Breakers at 6 p.m., and Crown Haitai closes out the day against Huons at 9 p.m.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
