Spanish three-cushion legend Daniel Sanchez (Eswai, Spain) has made the transition to professional billiards in the PBA. Sanchez’s new team, Eswai, has moved to the top of the second round of the PBA Team League.
On the fourth day of the second round of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League 2023-24 at the Goyang Kintex PBA Stadium in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, Eswai swept SK Rent-a-Car 4-0 in straight sets and earned three points.
With the win, Eswai moved to the top of the second round with 10 points, ahead of second-place Blue One Resort (9 points). Starting this season, the PBA Team League will award two points to the winning team and one point to the losing team in full-set matches. A non-full-set win is worth three points. Eswai earned three points in all three of its wins in Round 2. They added one point for their full-set loss against Hiwon Resort on Day 2.
Eswai easily snapped SK Rent-a-Car’s second-round winning streak, which included a victory over first-round winners NHK Card. In the first set of the men’s doubles, Sanchez and ‘substitute’ Park In-soo opened the scoring with an 11-6 victory over Ngo Dinh Nai (VN) and Kang Dong-gung in six games.
In the second set of the women’s doubles, Han Ji-Eun and Lee Woo-Kyung defeated Hida Oriie (JPN) and Kang Ji-Eun 9-7 (6 games). In the third-set men’s singles match, Sanchez used a high-scoring six-point run to defeat Eddie Repens (BEL) 15-12. With the score tied at 3-3 in the fourth, Sanchez scored six unanswered points, including two bank shots, before closing out the win with 15 points in eight games. In the fourth-set mixed doubles, Lee Young-hoon and Han Seul-ki combined for nine points in just four innings to close out the match with a 9-1 victory over KIM Sang-hwi and KANG Ji-eun.
Eswai added two more wins on the day to help the team to victory, while Sanchez continued to adjust to the Team League. Sanchez is now 6-2 after playing four doubles and four singles matches in the second round. He leads the team in wins, winning percentage (75.0%), and average (2.250), and ranks second in wins, third in winning percentage, and third in average in the entire team league.
In the other match of the day, the Hawks snapped a three-match losing streak with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the NHL Cards. With the set score at 1-3, Choi Sung-won, Jang Ga-yeon, and Semi Signer (Turkiye) won in straight sets to turn the match around.
Hanacard also ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-0 set victory over Haiwon Resort. Welcome Savings Bank avenged its opening day loss with a 4-3 full-set victory over Blue One Resort. In the final seven-set men’s singles match, Seo Hyun-min’s high run of seven points was decisive in his 11-0 (three innings) victory over Kang Min-koo.메이저놀이터
On the fifth day of the second round on the 20th, the first match of the day will be between Crown Haetae and Haiwon Resort at 11 a.m., followed by Huon’s-Eswai at 2 p.m., Hana Card and Welcome Savings Bank at 5 p.m., and SK Rent-a-Car and Blue One Resort at 8 p.m. The NHL Card will have a day off.
Meanwhile, the second round of the PBA Team League, which is being held at the Goyang Kintex PBA Stadium in Goyang City, Gyeonggi-do, will welcome visitors to the venue, with players handing out gifts to fans just before tip-off. The event will be held for all games in the second round.
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