The Dodram 2023-2024 V-League kicks off this weekend. At the V-League Men’s Media Day held at Hotel Rivera in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, on Nov. 11, the leading players of the seven teams took responsibility for the team’s poor performance at the 현금홀덤사이트 Asian Games and expressed their determination for a different season.
Hyundai Capital’s Heo Su-bong, who played for the national team, said, “It was a tournament where we felt and experienced a lot. We apologize to our fans for not performing well,” he said, promising to make the new season more fun and show our fans a winning game. KEPCO’s Seo Jae-duk echoed the sentiment, saying, “We have a lot of work to do as we have been lacking in international competitions.” “Our (national team) players were disappointed, and I’m sure the fans were disappointed,” said Han, a veteran of the Korean national team, “so we have to show improvement in the V-League this season. We have to give the fans faith again, so all of our players will play hard.”
In men’s volleyball, the new season will be all about Korean Air’s quest for a fourth consecutive title. With a deep roster, Korean Air is the favorite to win the title again this season. “We have a good chance to win our fourth consecutive title, and we have prepared a lot,” said Korean Air head coach Tommy Tilikainen. “We want to do something that no other team has done before,” Han said.
Hyundai Capital, which was knocked out by Korean Air in the championship game last season, is also up for the challenge. Choi Tae-woong, head coach of Hyundai Capital, picked OK Financial Group as the team to end Korean Air’s four-game losing streak, and made the audience laugh with his unconventional prediction: “We will win the regular league, and OK Financial Group will beat Korean Air in the playoffs.” Heo Soo Bong also said, “I want to go all the way to the championship like last season, but this time with a better performance.”
With the introduction of the Asian quota system, the battle for the top spot is expected to intensify as teams try to fill in the gaps. KEPCO, which added Japanese libero Ryohei Iga, also hopes to make a leap forward. “We are the most hungry and thirsty team to win,” said Seo Jae-duk, whose team finished third in the regular season and made the playoffs last season. KEPCO has yet to win a championship since its inception.
KB Insurance and Samsung Fire, who finished at the bottom of the standings last season, are equally determined. “Last season, Samsung Fire was below us in terms of performance. We will keep them under us this time as well.” His analysis is compounded by the fact that Samsung Fire has better power. “I think they’ll do better, but we’ll be higher up,” he said.
After finishing at the bottom of the standings for the past three seasons, Samsung Fire is also looking to make a comeback. The team has high hopes for Yosvani Hernandez (Cuba) and Eddie Zargacha (Mongolia), the first two picks in both the foreign and Asian quarters. Samsung Fire coach Kim Sang-woo said, “No team is easy to beat, but the ball is round. If we show what we have prepared, it will be a different game.”