“My lifestyle is to laugh at the last game and reminisce about the past.”
Korean Air, the sole leader in men’s professional volleyball, lost with a set score of 1-3 (25-13 22-25 23-25 18-25) in the first match of the 5th round against KEPCO held at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on the 2nd. After the start of the 2022-2023 season, I saw the bitter taste of losing streak for the first time.
Korean Air coach Tommy Tilikhainen was full of confidence even before the match. Although it collapsed due to a shutout loss to KB Insurance on the 24th of last month, the players took enough rest for 8 days during the All-Star break break, and the performance checked in training was not bad. 메이저사이트
In addition, the part where Korean Air was strong against KEPCO this season was also a corner where coach Tommy believed. After the opening, Korean Air won all four confrontations with KEPCO. There was one shutout, and the other three games were full sets, but Korean Air had a happy ending.
Because of this, director Tommy was able to afford enough to respond with “Good Luck” when he heard that KEPCO manager Kwon Young-min had cast a ballot saying, “It’s time to beat Korean Air.”
However, the 5th round match went the exact opposite of Korean Air’s expectations. I expected an easy victory until I overpowered KEPCO in the 1st set and overpowered the baseline, but from the 2nd set, as mistakes appeared one after another, I self-destructed.
Not only did they lose in a row for the first time this season, but they failed to accumulate points in two consecutive games, and they were chased by 2nd place Hyundai Capital by 6 points. With 11 remaining games left in the regular league, it has changed to a trend that cannot be optimistic about 1st place.
Coach Tommy once admitted defeat cleanly. “It seems that today was not our day. KEPCO played volleyball better than us and that’s why we won. We will review this game and prepare well for the next game,” he said in general.
However, the past game will be quickly forgotten. As Korean Air’s goal is to win the championship match, he raised his voice that he would only think about becoming a winner in the last game of the V-League men’s division in the 2022-23 season.
“When you play volleyball, there are good days, bad days, and tough days,” said Tommy. It’s just one thing,” he said.
He continued, “No matter what, the most important thing is to be the one who laughs in the last game. It is my lifestyle to remember that there were days like this and there were days like that.”
