TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 baseball tournament begins with a Group B competition on Wednesday (Nov.13), pitting Taiwan versus South Korea at the Taipei Dome.
A pre-tournament press event was held a day earlier, attended by managers and team captains from Taiwan, South Korea, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Each team representative hoped their team could perform well and advance to the super round and medal games, per PTS.
Team Taiwan announced left-handed starter Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) will take the mound in the Group B opening game, while South Korea said right-handed pitcher Ko Young-pyo will start.
"I believe in our players; they all want to use this opportunity to prove themselves, and I hope and expect that we can play meaningful games. The goal is to advance to Tokyo," said Team Taiwan Manager Tseng Hao-chu (曾豪駒).
According to Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲), 26 of the 28-man South Korean roster are making their debut in international competition. Despite their youth, Chen believed they have made good progress in recent years and will be a major challenge.
"Since the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, our national team has begun to welcome a new generation of players. We are doing very well now, and I hope to have good results and allow young players to experience success in the games and achieve an excellent performance," said South Korean manager Ryu Joong-il.
Much is expected of South Korea, which is currently ranked sixth in the world, according to WBSC. Accordingly, 20 South Korean media attended the pre-tournament press conference.
"I am not afraid of facing strong opponents, because we are not weak. Of course, this is something we learn only after competing head-to-head. I believe that when we take the field, we will not hold back but will go all out,” said Chen.
Chen added that playing in the Taipei Dome will be a major home-field advantage. “Having our fans in Taiwan come to watch our games will be our biggest advantage," said Chen.
Team Taiwan hosted warm-up friendly games against the Czech Republic. For the Premier12 Group B play, Team Taiwan will play all four nighttime games at the Taipei Dome. As a quirk of scheduling, Team Taiwan and Cuba are the only two teams that will not play four consecutive games.
