The PBA Team League is already delivering fierce standings competition from Round 1, with teams from first through fourth place all level on nine points.
On Wednesday at Gwangmyeong Citizens' Gymnasium in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Hana Card defeated Harim in a full seven sets on Day 4 of the "Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League Gwangmyeong Tour 2026-2027." The win added two points to Hana Card's tally, keeping them atop the standings with a 4-0 record and nine points.
Both Hana Card and Harim had entered the day on three-match winning streaks, meaning one side would extend theirs to four while the other would see it snapped. Hana Card dropped the first set but swept the next three to take a commanding 3-1 lead.
Harim showed plenty of resilience. In the fifth set, Kim Yeong-won came from behind to beat Shin Jeong-ju 11-10 in five innings, and in the sixth, Park Jeong-hyeon edged Kim Ga-young 9-8 in 12 innings to force a deciding seventh set.
New signing Han Ji-seung delivered the decisive blow for Hana Card in the seventh set. Leading 3-2 heading into the fifth inning, Han reeled off an eight-point high run to close out the set 11-2, sealing the team's victory.
While Hana Card held the top spot, the other contenders also picked up wins. Crown Haitai swept SY 4-0 to extend their winning streak to two matches, with David Martinez of Spain the standout performer — he won both the first and third sets to drive the run.
NH NongHyup Card, whose winning streak had been snapped by a loss to SY on Wednesday, quickly bounced back with a 4-1 victory over the Breakers, dropping the first set before winning the next four. Woori Financial Capital also kept pace, beating High1 Resort 4-3 for their third straight win.
With all four teams level on nine points, Hana Card claimed the top spot by virtue of their superior win total at four. Among the three teams tied at 3-1, Crown Haitai moved into second with the best set ratio at 2.143, followed by NH NongHyup Card at 1.625 and Woori Financial Capital at 1.500. The PBA Team League ranks teams in order of points, wins, set ratio and score ratio.
In a clash between two teams each on three-match losing streaks, Huons snapped their skid with a 4-1 win over Welcome Savings Bank for their first victory of the season.
Day 5 on Thursday opens at noon with SY taking on Huons, followed at 3 p.m. by two simultaneous matches — Welcome Savings Bank vs. Woori Financial Capital and Crown Haitai vs. High1 Resort. The Breakers face Harim at 6 p.m., and Hana Card close out the day against NH NongHyup Card at 9 p.m.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
