First-place team with four straight wins faces second-place side just one point behind
Round 4 leader Crown Haitai and second-place Huons are set for a head-to-head showdown in the professional billiards PBA Team League.
The two teams meet Wednesday at noon at the PBA Stadium in Kintex, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the fifth day of Round 4 of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League 2026-2027.
Crown Haitai stayed atop the standings with four wins and no losses (11 points) after defeating Hana Card 4-2 in sets Tuesday. Huons also kept second place with a 4-0 sweep of Woori Financial Capital, moving to three wins and one loss (10 points). With just one point separating the two sides, the top spot could change hands depending on the result. In head-to-head meetings this season, Huons leads the series 2-1.
Crown Haitai raced out to a three-set lead against Hana Card, the Round 3 champions. David Martinez (Spain) and Kim Im-kwon won the first set 11-9, Baek Min-ju and Im Jeong-suk dominated the second 9-1, and Martinez beat Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (Vietnam) 15-6 in the third. Hana Card clawed back to take the fourth and fifth sets, but Crown Haitai sealed the match in the sixth when Baek Min-ju defeated Kim Ga-young 9-5.
Huons dismantled Woori Financial Capital behind a strong performance from "Hulk" Kang Dong-gung. Kang teamed with Robinson Morales (Colombia) to win the first set 11-5, then beat David Zapata (Spain) 15-14 in the third. Huons wrapped up the match in the fourth set, where Ngo Dinh Nai (Vietnam) and Kim Ye-eun defeated Kang Min-gu and Kim Min-young 9-6.
Welcome Savings Bank beat the Breakers 4-2 to extend their winning streak to three games and move into third place (three wins, one loss, eight points). Nguyen Tran Thanh Tao (Vietnam) beat Antonio Montes (Spain) 11-1 in the fifth set, and Choi Hye-mi defeated Hwang Min-ji 9-7 in the sixth.
SY defeated NH Nonghyup Card 4-2 to climb to fourth place (two wins, two losses, seven points), while Harim beat High1 Resort 4-2 to finish sixth (two wins, two losses, six points).
Wednesday's schedule opens with the Crown Haitai-Huons match, followed by Woori Financial Capital vs. SY, Hana Card vs. NH Nonghyup Card, High1 Resort vs. Breakers, and Welcome Savings Bank vs. Harim.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
