The men’s professional volleyball team OK Financial Group won its first title in its 10th appearance in the Cup.

OK Financial Group defeated Samsung Fire in the men’s final of the 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup Professional Volleyball Tournament at Park Jung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi, South Korea, with a set score of 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20). OK Financial Group had only finished as runners-up in the cup three times before, but after the appointment of new head coach Masashi Ogino, the team’s solid organizational skills helped them to win the title.

Shin Seong-jin, who joined the team as a first-round pick last season, led the team to the title. After scoring 31 points in the semifinals to help the team defeat Japan’s Panasonic, Shin poured in 34 points on 72.3 percent shooting in the final.

Shin was named the tournament’s MVP with 27 votes in the media voting, ahead of Chae Hwan (4).

Samsung Fire’s Park Sung-jin, who scored 30 points, was named MIP with 24 votes.

The Rising Star Award went to OK Financial Group’s Lee Jin-sung.

As expected of a final, the first set was an epic battle for momentum. The cheers and disappointments of the players were evident at 1 point and 1 point. The winner of the first set was not revealed until late in the game.

After a long rally at 20-20, a spike by Shin Shin-jin and an attack by Chae Chahwan gave OK Financial Group a 22-20 lead. Samsung Fire closed the gap to one point with a back-attack by Kim Jung-ho, but an error on Lee Ho-gun’s serve brought it back to two points. OK Financial Group did not miss this opportunity. Jeon Jin-sun blocked Park Sung-jin’s spike to make it 24-21 and set point. Samsung Fire pulled within one point at 23-24 with back-to-back spikes from Shin Shin-ho, but OK Financial Group won the first set 25-23 with a back-attack from Shin Shin-jin.

In the second set, Samsung Fire made a last-ditch effort. Samsung Fire led by Park Sung-jin and Shin Shin-ho made it 22-22. Spikes from Park Sung-jin and Kim Jang-ho made it 24-22, but Samsung Fire didn’t give OK Financial Group a chance, and Kim Jun-woo blocked a fastball from Jeon Jin-sun to take the second set 25-22 and make it 1-1.

The third set of the match was even more intense. The teams exchanged points until the score was tied at 23-23. OK Financial Group went up to 24 points with a spike from Shin Seong-jin. Samsung Fire, who needed to make a deuce, had a shaky reception and gave OK Financial Group a chance to attack, which OK Financial Group’s Chae Hwan succeeded in, winning 25-23 and taking a 2-1 lead.

With the victory in hand, OK Financial Group took an early lead in the fourth set. Chae Hwan’s forward attack and Kwak Myung-woo’s blocking, combined with Shin Shin-jin’s back-attack, gave the team a quick 9-3 lead and brought them closer to victory. The gap never closed. The lead grew to nine points at 14-5, 17-8, and so on. Samsung Fire scored four consecutive points with a spike by Kim Jung-ho, a service ace by Park Sung-jin, and an attack error by Park Seung-soo to cut the deficit to three points, 12-17, and OK Financial Group’s error, 16-19. However, OK Financial Group finally won the match with Shin Shin-jin leading the way. 토토사이트