Harim, High1 Resort trail by one point
Hwuons, winners of the PBA Team League's second round, are now chasing a third-round title after beating rival Harim to move into first place.
On Monday, at the indoor gymnasium of Pohang General Sports Park in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Hwuons defeated Harim 4-2 on sets on the fifth day of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League Pohang City Tour 2026-2027. The win lifted Hwuons to four wins and one loss with 12 points, moving them one point ahead of Harim and High1 Resort, who each sit at four wins and one loss with 11 points.
Hwuons had gone undefeated in the second round to claim that title and secure a postseason berth, but opened the third round with a 1-4 set loss to NH NongHyup Card. They bounced back with a 4-2 win over Crown Haitai, then swept past Breakers, Hana Card and Harim to run off four straight wins and take sole possession of first place in Round 3.
Hwuons seized early control Monday by taking the first two sets. Kang Dong-gung dropped the third set to Kim Young-won 12-15 (13 innings), but Morales and Kim Ye-eun steadied things in the fourth, beating Im Wan-seop and Jeong Bo-yun 9-5 (10 innings) to leave Hwuons needing just one more set. Choi Sung-won fell to Kim Jun-tae 4-11 (6 innings) in the fifth, yet Kim Se-yeon sealed the match in the sixth by sinking a bank shot to break an 8-8 tie against Park Jeong-hyeon.
In other results, NH NongHyup Card blanked High1 Resort 4-0 on sets. Woori Financial Capital edged Hana Card 4-3. SY defeated Breakers 4-2 to snap a four-match losing streak and record their first win of Round 3.
On Tuesday, the sixth day of competition, Hana Card face Breakers at noon, followed by Harim vs. Welcome Savings Bank and Woori Financial Capital vs. NH NongHyup Card at 3 p.m. Hwuons take on SY at 6 p.m., and Crown Haitai meet High1 Resort at 9 p.m.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
