Having never won a first-set men's doubles match in a postseason final, Hanakad made a drastic change to his set order (lineup) and finally took the first set. It was a significant "break" in that it ultimately led to a victory and forced a deciding seventh game.
Hana Card defeated SK Rent-a-Car 4-1 in straight sets in Game 6 of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League 2023-2024 Postseason Finals at the Kintex PBA Stadium in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.
With the win, the teams evened their series at 3-3 and will meet in Game 7 to determine this season's Team League champion.
Earlier in the day, SK Rent-a-Car defeated Hana Card 4-2 in Game 5 at 4:30 p.m. to take a 3-2 series lead. If they take Game 6, they will win their first ever Team League Finals title.
However, Hanakad also fought back in the elimination game six. SK Rent-a-Car's Repons took a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the men's doubles match with two consecutive bank shots, but Hanacard's Shin Jung-ju scored five points in the second inning to take the lead. In the fifth, Nguyen scored six points, including a bank shot, to give Hanakad a 1-0 lead in the set, 11-4.
Hanakad extended their lead to 2-0 in the second set of the women's doubles with a 9-3 victory, led by Kim Ga-young, who scored eight points on her own. Although they dropped the third-set men's singles, they took the fourth-set mixed doubles and the fifth-set men's singles in straight sets to force the match to a seventh and final game.
It is no exaggeration to say that the key to Hana Card's victory was a change in the set order (lineup) in the first set.
In their previous five matches against SK Rent-a-Car, HanaCard played the first-set men's doubles with the team of Kim Byung-ho and Nguyen, but they were swept in five games by SK Rent-a-Car's Kang Dong-gung and Repence. Once they dropped the first set, it became difficult for them to manage the match.
Hanakad pulled out an anomaly card in the sixth game. He dropped captain Kim Byung-ho and named "young 메이저사이트 blood" Shin Jung-ju as Nguyen's men's doubles partner. Hanakad's decision led to a five-point comeback by Shin, who eventually won the first set for the first time in the Finals.
The set order change was significant as it allowed Hanakkad to take the first set and push the match to a seventh game.