Leo (32, Cuba) of OK Financial Group in the men’s V-League is one of the best foreign players ever. He was selected as the MVP of the regular league for three seasons from the 2012-2013 season when he wore a Samsung Fire & Marine uniform, and he is also active in OK Financial Group, where he nested from the 2021-2022 season.
Compared to his record from 10 years ago, there is a noticeable change. That’s ‘blocking’. While Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance ranked first in scoring and second in subs throughout the three seasons, blocking was completely outside the rankings. At that time, he did not actively participate in blocking and focused only on attack.
That he neglected blocking can be seen by looking at the number of triple crowns (three or more successful serves, blocking, and back attacks). There is no triple crown in the 2012-2013 season and the 2013-2014 season. In the 2014-2015 season, he recorded 5 times as his blocking success increased. He only succeeded once last season. The serve and back attack met the conditions, but there were more than one or two cases where the record was broken due to blocking.
Such Leo has completely changed this season. He gained confidence in blocking using his tall height (206cm). Leo, who is currently ranked 9th in blocking (0.482 per set) as of the 19th, said, “If I had to choose the most difficult thing among back attacks, serves, and blocking, it would be blocking. But now he is confident in blocking.” While maintaining his strengths such as 1st place in serve (0.982 per set) and 6th place in back attack (57.95% success rate), the number of triple crowns is naturally increasing as blocking improves. He has already succeeded 5 times in 14 matches this season. 메이저사이트
In particular, they recently surprised everyone by achieving the first triple crown in 4 consecutive games in the history of the V-League. In an away match against KB Insurance held on the 16th, he wrote a new history by recording 3 serves and blocks and 8 back attacks. His three-game streak also came only three times in his career, excluding Leo.
The driving force behind his transformation is ‘stamina’. It was effective for him to manage his weight and stamina while doing steady weight training. “Last season, he weighed too much,” said Leo. He maintained his stamina by steadily weight training along with diet management this season,” he said. As his unique elasticity revived, he was able to actively participate in blocking defense. Also, the advice of Seok Jin-wook, director of OK Financial Group, was very helpful. In an official interview, he said, “Previously, when I stepped on an oblique line, the shape of my hand collapsed and the ball tended to fall out. Hearing the coach’s advice, he focused on the ball flying forward and practiced blocking.”
Thanks to Leo, who is enjoying his ‘second heyday’, his team is also on the rise. OK Financial Group, which overcame the sluggishness in the beginning and succeeded in turning around with 4 wins and 2 losses in the second round, rose to third place (24 points). At home on the 21st, we challenge Woori Card for a 3-game winning streak. In addition, whether or not Leo achieves the triple crown in 5 consecutive games is of great interest.