A top-of-the-table clash that could decide the Round 1 title in the PBA Team League is set for Friday.
On Thursday at Gwangmyeong Citizens' Gymnasium in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Hana Card defeated NH NongHyup Card 4-1 in sets on the fifth day of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League Gwangmyeong Tour 2026-2027. Woori Financial Capital edged Welcome Savings Bank 4-3.
Both teams had entered the day with nine points, but Hana Card added three more to cement sole first place at five wins and no losses (12 points). Woori Financial Capital extended their winning run to four straight but picked up only two points in the narrow victory, leaving them second at four wins and one loss (11 points).
Hana Card cruised past NH NongHyup Card, which had also been level on nine points heading into the match. After the teams split the first two sets, Hana Card's Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (Vietnam) broke the deadlock in the third, beating Cho Jae-ho 15-4 in five innings. With momentum in hand, Murat Naci Coklu (Turkey) and Han Seul-gi turned back Oh Tae-jun and Kim Min-a 9-7 in seven innings in the fourth set, and Shin Jeong-ju closed out the match by defeating Dao Van Ly (Vietnam) 11-6 in four innings in the fifth, sealing a 4-1 set victory. The win gave Hana Card five straight.
Woori Financial Capital survived a tight contest against Welcome Savings Bank. With the sets tied 2-2, Kang Min-gu pulled ahead in the fifth by beating Semi Sayginer (Turkey) 11-3 in four innings, but Sreung Piavy (Cambodia) fell to Choi Hye-mi 6-9 in five innings in the sixth to force a deciding seventh. There, transfer signing Lee Sang-dae came through, defeating Kim Jong-won 11-6 in 10 innings to seal the team's fourth straight win.
First-place Hana Card and second-place Woori Financial Capital meet Friday at 3 p.m. The result could effectively decide the Round 1 title. Hana Card holds a 4-1 head-to-head record against Woori Financial Capital from last season. With a round-winner's prize of 10 million won ($6,620) on the line for the first time this season, the matchup promises to be fiercely contested.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
