‘Veterans’ Uhm Sang-pil (46) and Kim Byung-ho (50), who were hanging on to the edge of the cliff, are back. Oh Tae-joon (31), the “unlucky” player who was suspended for a season, also got his uniform back. Lee Sang-dae, a “tambaeng” who sold lamb, became a “legitimate” player. We’re talking about the draft for the 2023~24 season of the Professional Billiards Association (PBA) Team League.
Uhm Sang-pil plays against Cho Jae-ho in the round of 16 of the Crown Hae Taek Championship on Nov. 6. [Courtesy of the PBA].
Uhm Sang-pil and Kim Byung-ho were 메이저사이트 selected with the fourth and fifth overall picks, respectively, by their respective teams, Blue One Resort and Hana Card, in the PBA Draft on Wednesday at the Seoul Press Center. The reason they stayed with their teams through the draft process is because they were trusted by their teams again. The story is a long one.
They were unseeded last season after failing to make up enough ranking points in the final round of the PBA Regular Tour (Individuals), which was the difference between survival in the first division. Due to the PBA’s team league rule, which states that players who lose their individual seeding cannot play in the team league, they left the team.
However, they managed to regain their seeding through the Qualifying School (Q-School) held earlier this month. However, they needed to be re-credentialed by the club, and eventually returned to the nest through today’s draft.
Team leader Uhm Sang-pil was recognized for leading Blue One Resort to the PBA Team League title last season. The return of “Bomi Dad” Kim Byung-ho, the former Hanacard captain, also proved to be a necessary component in the rebuilding of a team that lost three key players.
Kim Byung-ho takes aim at an enemy ball as Frederic Cudron looks on during their Round of 64 matchup in the PBA Tour Crown Hae Taek Championship on April 4. [Courtesy of the PBA].
While Uhm Sang-pil and Kim Byung-ho made their comebacks through the Q School, Oh Tae-joon is a case of reclaiming his Team League jersey after a year of “washin counseling. He lost his tour seeding two seasons ago and was released from his NHL card. He regained his seeding through Q School, but was not selected by his home team in the draft. He gritted his teeth.
He started last season with top-10 finishes, but turned his attention to himself with a runner-up finish at the fifth event, the Haiwon Resort Championship, and then a respectable ninth-place finish at the final World Championship, which was limited to the top 32 players, signaling his return to the team league this season.
Lee Sang-dae, who had been juggling touring with a lamb roast restaurant, returned to the ‘workplace’ on a flower carriage. Lee, whose previous best result was a Round of 16 finish, cued up for Hanacard as a ‘temporary’ replacement for Philipos Katsidokostas (Greece), who had been delayed in joining TeamLeague last season due to being detained on the way to the country.
Sang-dae Lee
Lee Sang-dae has been a reliable locomotive for Hanakkad, which had a 10-4 record through the second round. After impressing with a 7-2 record in a total of seven games and nine sets, Hanakkad invited him to join him for Round 3. Welbanc Savings Bank, who had been keeping an eye on him, even gave him an official uniform on the day.