Weekend Picks

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Weekend Picks

BASEBALL

Korea Baseball Organization

Lotte Giants at LG Twins

5 p.m. Saturday, Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul

The LG Twins need more wins this weekend to keep their hope for the postseason alive.

While the end of the season is fast approaching, the Twins are vying for fifth place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) rankings with the SK Wyverns and the Kia Tigers.

The Twins have won the Korean Series only twice in the club’s history, one in 1990 and the other in 1994. But for more than two decades now, the Twins have suffered a trophy draught. Even in the playoffs, fans have rarely seen the Twins in two decades.

Since their last Korean Series victory in 1994, the Twins have made it into the postseason just seven times. More failure than success, in other words, but the Twins could find themselves there this fall, or at least they hope to.

As of Thursday, the sixth-ranked Twins are only 1.5 games behind the Wyverns, which means the difference between the two clubs is virtually negligible and the standings could be changed in just one day. In fact, since Aug. 27, the Twins and the Wyverns have been going back and forth in the standings.

The Twins will host the Giants again at the same venue on Sunday at 2 p.m.



FOOTBALL

K-League Classic

Suwon Samsung Bluewings at Seongnam FC

6 p.m. Saturday, Tancheon Sports Complex, Seongnam, Gyeonggi

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Seongnam FC are meeting in the 29th round K-League Classic match this Saturday.

The match between the Bluewings and Seongnam has always sparked excitement among K-League fans. As the elites of the K-League, the game has been considered a spectacle to watch for in past seasons.

Right now, Seongnam is at a crucial juncture and needs a victory to leap into the upper ranks of the K-League. Right now, Seongnam is ranked sixth with 10 wins, eight draws and 10 losses. Seongnam had been deemed a dark horse that could bring down the Jeonbuk-Seoul duopoly before the start of the season. In the beginning, it was ranked third after Jeonbuk and Seoul and often threatened their positions in the standings. But things began to slide by mid-season.

Tiago Alves Sales, who was one of the leading scorers of the league, left Seongnam to play for Saudi Club Al-Hilal FC. The departure of Sales left a big gap in Seongnam’s lineup. Along with his departure came the fall of Seongnam. Right now, the club is in a two-game skid without a win in the past three matches.

But with national team striker Hwang Ui-jo up front, Seongnam is hoping to flip things around soon. If Seongnam takes three points against Suwon, it could climb up to third in the rankings, given that Ulsan Hyundai FC loses its coming match this weekend.


Sangju Sangmu FC at Gwangju FC

6 p.m. Sunday, Gwangju World Cup Stadium, Gwangju, South Jeolla

Sangju Sangmu FC, the football side of the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps, will be traveling to Gwangju this weekend to face Gwangju FC and Jung Jo-gook, the leading scorer of the K-League Classic at the moment.

Sangju and Gwangju are currently ranked fifth and seventh in the league standings, with Gwangju trailing behind by just three points. Sangju has a season record of 12 wins, four draws and 12 losses while Gwangju is with nine wins, 10 draws and nine losses. If Gwangju takes down Sangju at home this weekend, it means Gwangju could climb the ladder to sixth place.

Gwangju’s Jung is the top scorer of the league at the moment by a big margin. Compared to Carlos Adriano and Dejan Damjanovic of FC Seoul, Jung is in the lead by three goals. Jung has scored 16 goals so far this season and counting.
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