Home celebration failed → Magic number 4 could not be erased...The head coach's self-reflection. I can't guarantee victory with today's performance

Feb 18, 2025

Korean Air won 3-1 against Hyundai Capital in the men's V-League at Cheonan Yu Gwan-sun Gymnasium on the 18th. Hyundai Capital players, who have been delayed to confirm the top spot in the regular league due to the loss on the day, are encouraging each other. Cheonan = Reporter Huh Sang-wook's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.02.18/

Hyundai Capital has postponed its confirmation of the first place to the next time.

Hyundai Capital was defeated by a set score of 1-3 (19-25, 13-25, 25-22, 19-25) in the fifth round match against the Korean Air Jumbos in the men's Dodram 2024-2025 V-League at Yoo Gwan-soon Gymnasium in Cheonan on the 18th. Hyundai Capital lost for the fourth time (25 wins and 73 points) along with its first loss of the season against Korean Air.

It was the first time in seven years since the 2017-2018 season that he had a chance to confirm the top spot in the regular league. Above all, he beat 'defending champion' to get a chance to burst into celebration in front of his home fan.

The best scenario for the No. 1 ranking was waiting, but Korean Air came out with a different performance than before. For Korean Air, Yosvani played an active role with a success rate of 66.67% of 34 points, and Jung Ji-seok pressured Hyundai Capital with 13 points, including five blocked points.

On the other hand, Hyundai Capital was overwhelmed by Korean Air's firepower in the beginning, and Leo could hardly solve the attack. Leo remained at a nine-point attack success rate of 34.62%.

After giving up the first and second sets, he seemed to fight back by catching the third set, but as he continued to be lethargic in the fourth set, he eventually postponed his confirmation of the first place to the next one.

After the game, Hyundai Capital coach Philip Blanc said "It didn't answer the number of blocks we usually showed. The serve also failed to show good serve except Heo Soo-bong. I think we need to see how the players worked. You might have been nervous. He found a rhythm in the third set, but he gave up a point in the fourth set. I want to congratulate Korean Air on its victory. Also (3rd place) I don't think KB Insurance will like it" he said.

In addition, coach Blanc said, `With today's performance, I can't guarantee victory no matter who it is. I think we will win only when we show our performance. Leo wasn't a bit good today, but I think he'll recover.I was able to score points during the counterattack, but I didn't score in that part."

Korean Air is a team that is likely to meet in the championship match. Hyundai Capital won all of them until the fourth round and lost for the first time in the fifth round. Hyundai Capital was able to use it as an opportunity to be vigilant once again. Coach Blanc said, `We did worse than Korean Air's other appearances. Today's defeat is attributable to ourselves. I think we should ask the players what they got from today's defeat. If you were nervous, you have to be able to shake it off to show a good performance in the championship game."

Hyundai Capital will play Woori Card at Jangchum Gymnasium in Seoul on the 22nd.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.