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| Coach Renan / Photo = Kwon Kwang-il |
Korean Air defeated Hyundai Capital 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23) in the deciding match of the Jin Air 2025-2026 V-League men’s championship series (best-of-five) at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on the 10th.
The win secured a 3-2 series victory and the overall title for Korean Air.
Korean Air finished the regular season 23-13 (69 points), edging out Hyundai Capital (22-14, 69 points) on wins to earn a direct trip to the finals. Winning both home matches—each in full five-set affairs—gave them an early edge.
They then dropped Games 3 and 4 on the road in straight sets and faced a late series crisis, but rebounded in the decisive match to lift the trophy.
This is Korean Air’s first overall championship in two years, since the 2023-2024 season. The club had previously won four consecutive overall titles from 2020-2021 through 2023-2024. After falling short of a fifth straight crown last season when Hyundai Capital intervened, they reclaimed the throne this year.
Having already captured the season’s cup competition, Korean Air completed the treble—the club’s first three-title season since 2022-2023.
The victory also pushed Korean Air’s all-time championship total to six, surpassing Hyundai Capital’s five and moving the team to second place on the men’s list behind Samsung Fire (eight titles).
After the game, Renan told reporters he felt “half joy, half relief,” calling the margin extremely tight. “Every V-League team has outstanding players,” he said. “I spent eight years in Italy and seven with the Brazil national team, but the V-League still surprised me. Korean volleyball is moving in the right direction.”
He went on to praise the league’s technical level, the competitiveness between teams and the quality of foreign players. “Most of all, I want to commend the skills of Korean players. They genuinely have the talent,” he added.
Korean Air stumbled after a controversial call in Game 2 and lost two straight matches, but Renan highlighted his players’ mental strength. “What I admire most is that our players never let outside factors sway them. They didn’t get distracted by external issues even once,” he said. “I’ve known Philippe Blain for a long time—Hyundai Capital is a fantastic team—but I believe Korean Air deserved this win. We completed the treble, and at no point were we influenced by outside factors.”
He acknowledged attempts by others to magnify the controversy but said it existed only on the other side. “We focused only on our volleyball,” Renan said. “We worked on getting the best from our players and making the opponent uncomfortable.”
Renan also praised the team’s preparation and unity. “Not even for a minute did I see the players stop talking about today’s match. They trained at the arena this morning. The coaching staff kept analyzing and studying to build our strategy. Players and staff were one team. The fans supported us and were part of this win. Those elements made us stronger.”
The victory gives Renan his first V-League championship. He took over Korean Air last April and led the team to the title in his first season at the helm.
Renan outlined two goals moving forward: “One is to collect as many trophies as possible. The other is to have the players perform as a team in every moment. From the start of the season, I didn’t like seeing games decided by relying on one or two players.”
He highlighted contributions across the roster. “Kang Seung-il managed the libero role well from midseason, despite his youth. Im Dong-hyuk stepped into the starting opposite spot for the first time and handled the championship series admirably. Some might look at our foreign player scoring 10 or 11 points and think that’s low, but that was intentional. I wanted a team where everyone can score—multiple players putting up 10 or 11 points. If you ask me to pick an MVP today, I can’t. Everyone was an MVP; I can’t single one player out.”
On captain Jeong Ji-seok, Renan joked that he’d heard Jeong is a fan of Lucarelli, so he gifted him a Brazil national team jersey. “He really resembles that player. He’s excellent in every aspect. He went through tough moments, but when he accepted responsibility his focus sharpened. We saw him grow during the match. I think gifting the jersey was the right move.”
Renan wrapped up by saying he wants to savor the moment with his players and staff. He plans to rest beside his wife and meet with the club to start preparing immediately for next season.
[Sports Today reporter Shin Seoyoung sports@stoo.com]
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