Korea’s Giants take on Japan’s in baseball

The Lotte Giants will play the Yomiuri Giants during the Asia Series to be held in Busan on Saturday.

Yomiuri secured a final slot in the six-team Asia Series after beating the Nippon Ham Fighters 4-3 on Saturday for a 4-2 Japan Series win.

The two Giants teams are paired in Group B along with the Perth Heat of Australia. The Giants will play the Heat on Thursday.

The best team from Group B will meet the best team from Group A at the final slated for Sunday. Group A is composed of the Samsung Lions, Lamigo Monkeys of Taiwan and the China Stars. The Lions will take on the Monkeys on Friday and the Stars on Saturday.

All the six teams but the Lotte Giants are playing in the Asia Series as winners from their respective domestic leagues. The Lotte Giants, knocked out by the SK Wyverns in the second round of the playoffs, are acting as hosts. All games will be played at the Sajik Stadium in Busan.

The defending champion Lions are seeking to be the first Asian club to win a back-to-back title since the series launched in 2005. Japanese clubs won the title for the first four years before the series took a break for two years.

By Moon Gwang-lip