Pyo Seung-joo (31, 182cm), an outside heater of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, claims to be a "nagging man" for his juniors. He is the team's ace and spiritual pillar.
IBK beat KGC Ginseng Corporation 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19) in the semifinals of the 2023 Gumi-Dodram Cup Professional Volleyball Tournament (KOVO Cup) held at Park Chung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do on the 4th. He will be on the final stage and challenge for his fourth career championship.
It was the first time in seven years since 2016, when he won the championship, and Pyo Seung-joo was at the center of it. Pyo Seung-joo led the attack with 25 points, the most in both teams, including two blocking, and recorded a 43.40% attack success rate.
IBK Industrial Bank of Korea showed some disagreement in the practice game before the opening of the KOVO Cup. Pyo Seung-joo, who recalled the time, said, "I was so distressed because there was nothing going on when I was practicing," adding, "I prepared for the tournament thinking it would be better to do this now than when I played."
However, after entering the competition schedule, he showed a relentless rise and won a ticket to the finals. Pyo Seung-joo said, "I am grateful that the players who did not play in the practice game, such as (Park) Min-ji and (Yook) Seo-young, did so well."
In the match, setter Kim Ha-kyung showed fast volleyball. Pyo Seung-joo confessed, "Fast volleyball is the team's tactic, and if strikers move accordingly, they often lose strength and are blocked." However, after praising (Kim) Ha-kyung for raising the toss well throughout the tournament, he laughed, saying, "I hope she will do better by tomorrow."
Pyo Seung-joo is showing perfect performance in this competition. He has played 85 points in a total of four games until the semifinals, beating Kang So-hwi (GS Caltex), who scored 70 points, and is ranked first in scoring. If he wins the final match against GS Caltex on the 5th, Pyo Seung-joo is likely to win the MVP (best player).
However, for Pyo Seung-joo, the team's victory was more important than the MVP. He said, "We are focusing on winning, and MVP is a matter to think about after winning," adding, "I think we need to organize the players well and prepare well for tomorrow's game."
Pyo Seung-joo wore the Taegeuk mark and played the 2023 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Volleyball Nations League (VNL) schedule until the 2nd of last month. After that, he immediately joined his team and practiced without a break.
That's how much pressure it must be on your physical strength. However, Pyo Seung-joo said, "There are many difficult parts, but I can't help but do it." "If you overcome difficult moments well, better moments will come," he said with a positive attitude. He then smiled, saying, "I feel like the players are all united together," adding, "I should prepare well until the end so that it can lead to good results."
Before the game, Ko Hee-jin, head coach of KGC Ginseng Corporation, said that Pyo Seung-joo is the target of the target batter's serve. As such, Pyo Seung-joo is mainly the target of the opponent, but he laughed, saying, "I'm always preparing my mind."
"After coming to IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, I was worried about a lot of target hits," Pyo Seung-joo said, adding, "Now I think it's just happening every game." "It seems to be an environment where we can grow further by bumping into each other and overcoming it. I'm thinking positively," he said with a smile.
As he is a senior player in the team, he is in charge of leading his juniors well until the end. Pyo Seung-joo said, "I think I tell my juniors more bad things than good things," adding, "My juniors may feel like they are nagging, but I plan to continue as I do now." "I hope you understand." 스포츠토토
However, his junior Yuk Seo-young rather welcomed Pyo Seung-joo's nagging. "I don't think it's a nagging," he said, adding, "It was helpful to explain how to solve it when it didn't work out in the first set today's first set."
Pyo Seung-joo is not only the ace of the team but also the mentor. It remains to be seen whether his good influence will shine in the final.