Woori Financial Capital defeated Harim to claim the PBA Team League Round 1 title.
In three matches played Monday on the final day of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League Gwangmyeong City Tour 2026-2027 at Gwangmyeong Citizens' Gymnasium in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Woori Financial Capital beat Harim 4-0 on sets. The two teams finished level on wins at 7-2, but Woori Financial Capital edged Harim on points — 20 to 18 — to clinch the Round 1 title.
Woori Financial Capital was formed ahead of the 2024-25 season after acquiring Blue One Resort's franchise. In that debut season, the team finished third overall in the regular season without a round title and reached the postseason, where it finished as runner-up. Last season, the team won Round 5 but was eliminated in the postseason wild-card round by Crown Haitai.
The Round 1 title earns Woori Financial Capital the first postseason berth of the season — awarded to the five regular-round winners. The team also collected the round winner's prize money of 10 million won ($6,640), introduced this season.
Kang Min-gu, who paired with Eom Sang-pil in the men's doubles first set and helped the team to victory with a come-from-behind 10-9 win over Nguyen Phuong Linh and Tran Duc Minh of Vietnam, was named Round 1 MVP, earning a prize of 1 million won. Kang posted a 12-3 record in Round 1 — 7-1 in singles and 5-2 in doubles — with an average of 1.620. It is his first career round MVP award.
Woori Financial Capital team leader Eom Sang-pil said experience made the difference. "I think our edge in experience over Harim helped us. Harim still has young players, and Tuesday was probably their first time playing in a match like this, so they must have felt a lot of pressure," he said. "Winning Round 1 means we can go into the rest of the season with peace of mind."
With Round 1 wrapped up in Woori Financial Capital's favor, the Team League Round 2 is set to be held in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, in August. Before that, the PBA will host the third tour of the 2026-27 season at the PBA Stadium in Kintex, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, from July 26 to Aug. 3.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
