Korea manager Ryu Ji-hyun has experienced both success and failure at earlier World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments, having served on the coaching staff for the 2006 squad that reached the semifinals and the 2013 team that got knocked out in the first round. In charge of this year's team, Ryu believes his players have the right attitude that can lead to glorious moments on the field. "Ever since we played exhibition games last November, I could sense the players' commitment and genuine attitude toward the national team," Ryu said at his pretournament press conference at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday. Korea will begin Pool C action against Czechia at 7 p.m. Thursday. "Things have been moving in the right direction in that regard," Ryu added. "And I am convinced that it will allow these 30 players to perform even better than what they're capable of." After Czechia, Korea will face Japan on Saturday, Chinese Taipei on Sunday and Australia on Monday. The top two nations at the end of pool play will advance to the quarterfinals in Miami. Korea hasn't made it out of the first round since going all