Hi One Resort and Huons have each won three straight matches to claim the top spots in Round 2 of the PBA Team League.
On Friday at the Hwaseong General Sports Town indoor gymnasium in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Hi One Resort defeated SY 4-2 in sets and Huons edged Crown Haitai 4-3 on Day 3 of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League Hwaseong City Tour.
With both teams on three-game winning streaks, Hi One Resort leads Round 2 outright with 8 points, while Huons sit second with 7 points.
Both teams were considered title contenders after strengthening their rosters in the preseason draft. Hi One Resort added Kang Ji-eun and Eddie Leppens (Belgium), while Huons overhauled their squad by signing Kang Dong-gung, Ngo Dinh Nai (Vietnam), Kim Ye-eun and Seo Han-sol.
Hi One Resort finished ninth in Round 1 with a 2-7 record and 7 points, but have looked like a transformed side in Round 2. Against SY, with the set score tied 1-1, Lutfi Chenet (Turkey) sparked a comeback in the third set by posting a 12-point high run in two innings against Burak Hasasi (Turkey) to win 12-9 in four innings and retake the lead. In the fourth set, Lee Chung-bok and Lee Mi-rae beat Seo Hyeon-min and Han Ji-eun 9-3 in four innings to push the set score to 3-1.
In the fifth set, Leppens dropped a tight contest to Mori Yusuke (Japan) 9-11 to give up a set, but Kang Ji-eun closed out the match in the sixth set with a 9-1 win over Lee Woo-gyeong in four innings.
Huons needed all seven sets to get past Crown Haitai, with team leader Choi Seong-won as the key figure. Choi, who had missed Round 1 for personal reasons, teamed up with Ngo in the first set to post a dominant 11-0 win in four innings.
After Huons dropped four straight sets from the second to fall behind 1-3, Choi returned in the fifth set to defeat Kim Im-gwon 11-6 in six innings and set the stage for a comeback. Kim Se-yeon then beat Baek Min-ju 9-5 in 11 innings in the sixth set, before Ngo sealed the dramatic comeback win by defeating Kim Jae-geun 11-10 in eight innings in the seventh.
NH NongHyup Card recorded their first win of Round 3 by beating Welcome Savings Bank 4-2. Woori Financial Capital swept Breakers 4-0, and Harim defeated Hana Card 4-3.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
