SEOUL – David Martinez's 8th PBA success this Monday coincided with Sruong Pheavy's 8th PBA victory in the women's competition. The Spaniard and the Cambodian have become absolute stars on the Korean professional tour. David Martinez defeated former champion Jae ho Cho, one of the Koreans who occasionally can break the European hegemony, in the final of the Crown Hatai event at the Kintex Goyang stadium. Sruong Pheavy defeated Korean Ga-young Kim in the women's final, who was stopped in her record run after 8 PBA victories in a row. David Martinez returns to Spain after his victory, while Sruong Pheavy, who is very active in charity work and fundraising for the Pheavy Foundation's projects, promised in her speech that she wants to have a new house built for her parents in Cambodia soon.
David Martinez (33) celebrates his PBA success in Spain with his wife Ana and his family in Murcia. ‘’The victory makes me happy, I thanked the organization and the sponsors in my speech. We celebrated with my teammates from Crown Hatai. A few hours after the ceremony and the interviews, I left for Spain for a short time,’’ Martinez said shortly before his departure. ’’My wife has to stay in Spain for her work and couldn't be here in Korea this time. We agreed that I would come to Spain for two weeks, otherwise I would be alone in Korea for the whole summer. That would be too stressful. The plan is to enjoy a few spa visits, relax and then return in good shape for the next two PBA team tournaments and the next individual tournament.’
Sruong Pheavy defeated Bo-ra Kim 4-1 (0.873/0.592) in the final. The semi-final against Ga-young Kim was a tense match between the two big LPBA stars. Pheay won 3-1 (11-6, 10-11, 11-9, 11-2, averages 1.032/1.002).
Spanish winner David Martinez looked back with great satisfaction on his eighth victory, three of which were in 2024 and now his first in 2025. He won the final against Jae ho Cho 4-2 (15-5, 2-15, 15-9, 15-14, 11-15, 15-12, average 1.940).
David Martinez: ’’The PBA lague has become stronger again this year with Jun Tae Kim and Duc Min Tran, two great players who add more value to the competition. The other change is that the time clock has been reduced by two seconds to 33.’’
The tournament had a start for Martinez in which he was able to survive. "The first games are always stressful with the penalty shots. I beat Palazón 3-0, but I had some luck. He was very strong, as always, and every mistake is punished. The match against Lütfi Cenet was also a tough and exciting battle. I had a match point in the fifth set, I missed and he finished with 11. He also had a set point in the sixth, but I managed to win."
That match against Lütfi Cenet was in the semi-finals, which Martinez won 4-2 (1,612/1,458). In the other semi-final, Jae ho Cho beat Eddy Leppens 4-1 (1,762/1,575).
In one of the previous rounds (best 16), Cenet defeated Dani Sánchez 3-2, Eddy Leppens defeated Duc Minh Tran and Dong Koong Kang 3-1, and Martinez defeated Palazón 3-0 and Sang dae Lee 3-0. Martinez's match in the last 32 against Lee, which he won 3-0 with an average of 2.813, earned him an extra bonus.
The new PBA players Jun Tae Kim and Duc Min Tran were outplayed before the final rounds. Jun Tae Kim lost to Lütfi Cenet in the best 8, Tran lost to Leppens after eliminating Juan David Zapata himself.
The Europeans have been dominating the PBA tour for some time now: Semih Sayginer won last year's PBA World Championship, David Martinez won the last tournament in 2024. Then 2025 started with a victory for Murat Naci Coklu, and the second tournament, which ended this week, was won by David Martinez.
Coincidentally, the Hana Card tournament has been won four times by a Spaniard: twice by David Martinez, once by Juan David Zapata, and once by Javier Palazón.
David Martinez played 10 PBA finals and won 8 of them
Jae-ho Cho, the other final player
The final ladies players, Sruong Pheavy (right) and Bo-ra Kim
