SK Hawks beat Hanam City Hall to advance to championship game for first time in two years

SK Hawks defeated Hanam City Hall to advance to the championship game for the second time in two years.

Head coach Nuno Alvarez's SK Hawks defeated Hanam City Hall 30-29 in the second leg of the men's playoffs (PO) of the Shinhan SOL Pay 2023-2024 Handball H League on Saturday at the SK Handball Stadium in Seoul. Lee Hyun-sik led the offense with nine goals and Ha Tae-hyun with seven. Goalkeeper Yunus made five saves. SK avenged its PO first-leg loss and punched its ticket to the championship match. They will face Doosan in the championship match starting on the 28th.

It was a game of destiny with no tomorrow. The winner of the day would earn a ticket to the championship game. SK also had pride on the line. The two teams met in the first round on the 24th. The odds were slightly in SK's favor. SK finished second in the regular season, while Henan Municipal Government finished third. If SK won Game 1, the series would be over. However, SK bowed out after the penalty shootout.

The second game was played. Both teams' aces were flying. Lee Hyun-sik for SK and Shin Jae-seop for Hanam City took turns scoring. It was an intense game. There were many two-minute ejections. The first half ended with the score tied at 15-15.

The second half was a similar story. SK was the first to show their intensity. At one point, they went up by five points. Henan Municipal Government didn't back down. They started to chase. SK was in trouble when Ha Tae-hyun was sent to the bench for two minutes. However, SK stayed focused until the very end to protect their slim lead.

Ha Tae-hyun, who was named MVP of the match, said, "If we said we were going to win, it didn't work out. I'll leave the championship game to God. I'm grateful to the fans who took the time to come to the gym and support us by watching the broadcast."

Coach Alvarez said, "After this game, I told us to come out and leave with no regrets, to give it everything we had, and to leave with a smile on our faces. I'm glad we accomplished that goal, and we'll see what happens in the championship game if we work as hard as we did in this game."