Only club among 10 to exercise additional selection right
Pair set to play in Round 4 starting Saturday
Welcome Savings Bank is looking to climb out of the lower half of the Professional Billiards Association Team League standings after signing two players in a mid-season roster move.
The PBA announced Tuesday that Welcome Savings Bank had used the 2026-2027 season's mid-season additional selection system to sign Nguyen Tran Thanh Tao, 29, of Vietnam, and Kang Yu-jin, 33.
Welcome Savings Bank sits eighth among 10 clubs after three rounds, with a 10-17 record and 36 points. The club, a former Team League Final champion, is hoping the additions will spark a turnaround.
Nguyen made his PBA debut this season and won the SY Championship — his third tour event — defeating Semih Sayginer of Turkey in the final. Kang has been in steady form, finishing runner-up at the third tour event this season before reaching the round of 16 at the fourth and the quarterfinals at the fifth.
The PBA's mid-season additional selection system allows clubs to add players up to the nine-player roster limit after the conclusion of Round 3. Welcome Savings Bank was the only club among the 10 to exercise its selection right this time.
Under the additional selection rules, Welcome Savings Bank must retain both players through the 2027-2028 season and designate them as protected players for next season as well.
Nguyen and Kang are expected to make their Team League appearances starting in Round 4, which opens Saturday.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
