Chinese Taipei manager hoping players will sustain momentum in must-win game vs. Korea

With his team fresh off a resounding first victory at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), Chinese Taipei manager Tseng Hao-Jiu said Sunday he will count on his squad to build on that momentum in a must-win showdown against Korea. Chinese Taipei lost its first two games in Pool C without scoring a run against Australia and Japan, before hammering Czechia 14-0 on Saturday. Korea beat Czechia 11-4 to start things off on Thursday but lost to Japan 8-6 on Saturday. With the top two teams out of five in the group advancing to the quarterfinals, a loss will eliminate Chinese Taipei from knockout contention. On the other hand, a win could create a tiebreaking situation for the second spot depending on how Korea and Australia fare the rest of the way. "I think my players were really decisive in yesterday's win, and I hope we can sustain our great form in today's game," Tseng said at his pregame press conference at Tokyo Dome. "We obviously have to be wary of Korea. They are a great team and I am sure they're prepared for this game. And we will try to create scoring chances and execute our own game