Ansan Okman win playoffs to reach V League championship

Volleyball

Published: 26 Mar. 2024, 15:03 Updated: 26 Mar. 2024, 16:49

Ansan Okman win playoffs to reach V League championship

Ansan OK Financial Group Okman players celebrate winning the 2023-24 playoffs against Seoul Woori Card Woori Won and reaching the championship at Sangnoksu Gymnasium in Ansan, Gyeonggi on Monday. [YONHAP]

Ansan OK Financial Group Okman beat Seoul Woori Card Woori Won 3-0 in the second game of the playoffs on Monday to reach the 2023-24 V League championship.

After winning the first game of best-of-three playoffs 3-2 on Saturday, Okman displayed a strong performance again at Sangnoksu Gymnasium in Ansan, Gyeonggi on Monday, winning the first three sets 25-15, 25-15 and 25-19 for a clean 3-0 victory.

Monday’s win sent Okman through to the men's V League championship for the first time in eight years. The Ansan side will face league winners Incheon Korean Air Jumbos in the best-of-five championship starting on Friday.

Okman’s success comes under head coach Masaji Ogino, who joined the team in the summer ahead of the Korea Volleyball Federation Cup — a preseason tournament in which teams test out their squad ahead of a regular campaign — and immediately won the tournament.

Ogino then led his side to a third place finish on the seven-team table this season, finishing the league two spots higher than the last season and reaching the so-called “semi-playoffs” against fourth place Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers, whom they beat 3-2.

The semi-playoffs take place when the points gap between the third- and fourth-place teams is three points or less. The winner then reaches the playoffs.

Okman also showed solid form against defending champions Jumbos in the league, recording two wins and four losses.

This year’s championship victory will be the Ansan side’s third championship title after winning in 2015 and 2016.

The Jumbos, on the other hand, join the championship on the back of four consecutive league titles and three successive championship trophies in the past four seasons.

Jumbos head coach Tommi Tiilikainen, who has led the team since 2021, watched Monday’s game.

Another championship title this year will make the Incheon side the first-ever team to achieve four titles sweep in a row.

Not even the Daejeon Samsung Bluefangs achieved that feat, having swept both titles from 2011-12 through the 2013-14 seasons and won the 2014-15 league title again, but lost the championship that season to Okman.

The Jumbos even reinforced their squad ahead of the championship by signing veteran opposite spiker Maksim Zhigalov last week. Zhigalov replaces Murad Khan, who displayed an inconsistent performance with the team.

The first championship game will take place on Friday at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon at 7 p.m. The championship schedule will last through April 6 at the latest.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]