The men's professional volleyball OK Financial Group won a ticket to the playoffs after a fierce match.
OK Financial Group, led by head coach Ohgino, defeated Hyundai Capital with a set score of 3-2 22-25 25-22 25-21 22-25 15-13 and advanced to the playoffs in the men's semi-playoff of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League postseason held at Ansan Sangnoksu Gymnasium on the 21st.
OK Financial Group and Hyundai Capital locked horns with three wins and three losses in their regular league showdowns during the 2023-2024 season. Four of them, in particular, produced a great match as soon as they met, leading up to the full set, and continued the trend in this semi-playoff. The semi-playoff match between the two teams was a whopping 2 hours and 30 minutes.
In the OK Financial Group, "Ace" Leonardo Leiva Martinez registered name Leo displayed outstanding performance. Leo scored 43 points, the most among the teams, and despite his offensive share of more than 50 percent, he performed his part up to the fifth set. Song Hee-chae 15 points and Shin Ho-jin 12 points displayed impressive performance, driving the team to advance to the playoffs.
At Hyundai Capital, a triangle formation led by Ahmed Iqbairi registered name: Ahmed, 29 points, Heo Soo-bong 23 points, and Jeon Kwang-in 18 points jointly scored as many as 70 points. Taking advantage of height, which is the strength of the team, Hyundai Capital led 10-4 in the number of blockings, but managed to overcome regret by recording more errors 33 than OK Financial Group 21.
It was a tight race from the beginning of the game, a close race until the end
OK Financial Group, which will play a semi-playoff at home as the third-place team in the regular league, started the game with setter Kwak Myung-woo, outside heater Song Hee-chae, and middle blocker Bayarsaihan Vazu registered name Bayarsaihan - Apogit Spiker Signaljin-outside heater Leo-middle blocker Park Chang-sung and Libero Jung-hyun.
Hyundai Capital, the fourth-ranked team in the regular league who took a dramatic semi-playoff stage, greeted the first set with middle blocker Cha Young-seok, setter Kim Myung-kwan, outside heater Heo Soo-bong, middle blocker Choi Min-ho, apogit spiker Ahmed, middle blocker Jeon Kwang-in, Libero Park Kyung-min.
Hyundai Capital gained the upper hand. It took the lead by banking on the performances of Ahmed and Heo Soo-bong in the first set, and despite the opponent team's fierce pursuit, it did not allow a tie and reached the 20-point mark first. It allowed two points at 23-20, but won the first set thanks to Ahmed's back attack and Jeon Kwang-in's serve aces.
OK Financial Group did not stay put. In the second set, 18-19, the opponent made consecutive mistakes, and Bayarsaihan added one more point. Afterwards, OK Financial Group, which brought set points due to Leo's quick opening at 23-22, clinched the second set due to Ahmed's mistake.
OK Financial Group pushed Hyundai Capital hard in the third set as well, building momentum in the second set. After scoring three consecutive points with Ahmed's unforced errors, Song's quick open and Leo's back attack at 21-20, the team finished the third set with Song's quick open at 24-21. Leo alone scored 11 points, and Song, who finished preheating, also scored five points.
Hyundai Capital, which was on the brink of a precipice, took a breather with a victory in the fourth set. As the defensive organization revived, the atmosphere rose, and Ahmed and Heo Soo-bong showed their presence. At 22-22, after Heo's quick opening and Leo's mistakes, Heo blocked Song's attack, leading the game to the fifth set.
Up until the beginning of the fifth set, Hyundai Capital was in the mood. Jeon scored consecutive points after the start of the fifth set, and Jeon and Heo Soo-bong scored points one after another, making the score run 4-1.
Then came the ace, Leo. He made a 5-4 comeback with a whopping four consecutive back attacks. OK Financial Group gave Hyundai Capital the lead again, but regained its 12-11 lead with Leo's serve ace following Lee's sub-fault at 10-11.
With the score tied at 13-13, the OK Financial Group took the match point first. As Jeon Kwang-in, who served strongly, made a serve mistake, the two teams had mixed feelings. In the 14-13, Leo was attacked by Heo Soo-bong, and after receiving a toss from Kwak Myung-woo, a signal team scored a point to end the game. That's how the team to advance to the playoffs was decided.
4th place leap from the bottom to PS, Hyundai Capital's miraculous journey has ended
Hyundai Capital, which ranked second in the regular season of the 2022-2023 season, achieved valuable results as the runner-up in the championship game. However, the season was different this year. The mood of Hyundai Capital has calmed down due to its opening five-game losing streak. Since then, the team has seemed to rebound with two consecutive wins, but as it has bogged down six consecutive losses, it has distanced itself from not only top-ranked teams but also middle-ranked teams.
Choi Tae-woong, who had been working on a generational shift in recent seasons, eventually failed to complete the season and gave up the baton. Hyundai Capital announced on Dec. 21 last year that it would replace its coach to renew the club's mood and create an opportunity for a new twist, and appointed Jin Soon-ki, its senior coach, as acting coach. At the time, Hyundai Capital had four wins and 13 losses and 16 points, ranking sixth.
Hyundai Capital, which had to worry about falling to the bottom, started to gain momentum after replacing its head coach. It won 3-0 shutout against KEPCO on Dec. 24 and 28, and overpowered Woori Card on Dec. 31, raising expectations.
Since the acting coach Jin Soon-ki's inauguration, Hyundai Capital has recorded 14 wins and 5 losses in 19 games. Hyundai Capital elevated its ranking to fourth place and successfully advanced to the post season by winning the final game of the season against OK Financial Group on Saturday. Until just three months ago, unimaginable things became a reality.
Having finished the season as an acting coach, Hyundai Capital is preparing for the 2024-2025 season with a new head coach. Philippe Blanc, who was appointed on July 7, will lead the Japanese men's national team until the 2024 Paris Olympics before officially taking the helm in August. He has a three-year term.
Blanc served as national team and club teams of several volleyball powerhouses, and is said to have transformed the Japanese national team into a strong team. In addition, Hyundai Capital expects Blanc to have a strong understanding of Asian volleyball.
OK Financial Group, which passed the semi-PO gate with difficulty, is now our next opponent 스포츠토토
OK Financial Group, which has not collapsed despite multiple crises, will start its playoff against Woori Card from Wednesday. The first round of the playoffs will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul and the second round at 7 p.m. on Saturday Ansan Sangnok Gymnasium. If the first and second rounds have one win and one loss, the third round will be held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
OK Financial Group has many good memories against Woori Card this season. It led the team with four wins and two losses in six regular-league showdowns, and earned one point in all of its losing matches by staging a close, full-set battle.
However, the fact that Woori does not have much time to rest can negatively affect the team's performance. OK Financial Group is required to meet Woori Card immediately after a day off, while Woori Card will play its first game in a week after the final game of the season against Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance on Wednesday.
If OK Financial Group continues its upward trajectory through the playoffs, it will be its first championship game in eight years after the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 seasons. Woori Card aims to advance to the championship game for the second time in the team's history after the 2020-2021 season quasi-winner.
