“Very small difference, Noh Si-hwan is top class in Japan” Ibata says Korean baseball ‘well-received’

“It was a very small difference.”

South Korea lost to Japan in the final of the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC). It was a come-from-behind loss. They certainly fought well. Even enemy manager Hirokazu Ibata, 48, had good things to say about Korea.

South Korea lost 3-4 against Japan in the APBC 2023 final at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, on April 19. It was a heartbreaker that they couldn’t get over the hump.

In the top of the third inning, Noh Si-hwan hit a two-run double for a 2-0 lead. In the fifth inning, Shugo Maki hit a solo shot to make it 2-1, and in the sixth inning, Teruaki Sato hit the game-winning sacrifice fly.

In the top of the 10th inning, Yoon Dong-hee hit an RBI single to make it 3-2, but in the bottom of the 10th, Shogo Sakakura gave up a tying sacrifice fly and Makoto Teruaki hit the winning run.

It was a winnable game. It was that good. Just not good enough. There have been few games in recent years that have been this close with Japan. Korea has had a disastrous run at the Olympics and World Baseball Classic (WBC). The young players gave us hope.

Japan acknowledged that. After the game, Ibata said, “Korea, Taiwan, and Australia are all teams we’ve played often. All of them have pitchers who throw fastballs, and they are not easy to hit. In the end, it was a close game.”

“You have to do the little things well. It also means that Asia is getting closer to the world level. We have to keep thinking about how we can face Japan in the future.”

He also talked about Korea. “We won, but it was a very small margin. I wouldn’t be surprised if they 메이저토토사이트 won both games. There were a lot of things to learn. Our pitchers were throwing their changeups in unfavorable counts, and all four of our starters were throwing over 150 kilometers per hour,” he said.

“Korea brought a lot of young, good players. Originally, I thought the No. 9 (Choi Ji-hoon) and No. 1 (Kim Hye-sung) were particularly good at baseball. I thought they were No. 1 and No. 2. No. 4 Noh Si-hwan was also good, showing sharp hitting. I think he is one of the best in Japan.”