Grandson's Tears On His Deathbed “to Give His Grandmother A Winning Gift“ Also Helped A Cliffhanger Superman [PBA].
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"She was like a mom to me."
He was unable to give his maternal grandmother her final moments. Cho Jae-ho (43-NHJ Nonghyup Card) became even more desperate.
He won the PBA Finals of the Haiwon Resort PBA-LPBA Championship at the Haiwon Grand Hotel in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do on Oct. 30, defeating "Belgian powerhouse" Eddie Repons (SK Rent-a-Car) in straight sets, 4-1 (15-13, 15-5, 12-15, 15-5, 15-11).
It was the first time in seven tours and eight months that Cho has tasted victory after finishing at the top of the World Championships last season. It was his fourth career title.
He tied for second with David Martinez (Spain-Crown Hattae) for the most wins. With the $100,000 first prize, he moved from 14th to third on the season prize list ($115.5 million). His career prize pool now stands at $618.5 million, up from fourth to third place.
Jo, who joined the professional scene late in life, won his first professional title on the opening day of last season and then went on to win four titles in the shortest amount of time. The previous record was 844 days (27 months, 22 days) held by Frederic Coudrone, but Jo broke it with 521 days (17 months, 3 days).
It was not an easy journey. From the Round of 128 to the Round of 16, Cho shut out Yoon Young-hwan, Ivan Mayor (Spain), Jeong Sang-hui (SK Rent-a-Car), and Hwang Hyung-beom. The problem came after the quarterfinals. He defeated Lee Young-hoon (Eswai) 3-2 in a full-set thriller, with the fifth set coming down to the wire at 11-10. In the semifinals, he came from behind to beat Antonio Montes (Spain-NH Nonghyup Card) 4-3, with the seventh set coming down to 11-10.
The final was a breeze for Cho, who came back from the brink of elimination twice. He was down 7-11 in the first set, but rallied with six points in the seventh to take a 13-11 lead, and after Repons tied the score at 13-13 in the eighth, he scored two more points to close out the set.
In the second set, he went on a five- and seven-point run to secure a 15-5 victory. The goddess of victory seemed to be smiling on Cho.
However, Repons fought back in the third set. Leading 12-8, they went on a seven-point run to take the set in straight sets.
The momentum was not lost. Starting the fourth set, Cho scored the first six points and reached set point with eight in the second. He added another point in the third and was just one set away from the title.
In the fifth set, after Repons went blank for the first three innings, Cho racked up 2-2-3 points to take a commanding 7-0 lead. After scoring in the fourth and fifth innings, Jo scored five points at a time to close out the match, with Repons rallying to tie the score at 10-11.
A jubilant Cho raised his arms in the air, and in his official interview on the field, he tearfully expressed his affection for his late maternal grandmother.
According to the PBA, Cho elaborated on the incident in a post-game interview with the winner. After losing to Nguyen Phuong Linh (High One Resort) in the Round of 32 of the NHL Card Championship last month, Cho received a phone call. It was his wife, informing him that his maternal grandmother had passed away. The departure was at dawn the next day. He didn't miss the wake, but he couldn't attend because he was competing.
"My aunts and mom didn't call me on purpose because they were competing," says Cho. "I went straight to the wake and gave them a good send-off. In fact, I was raised by my grandmother because my parents worked when I was younger. She was like a mom," he said.
"Until she passed away, she only watched my matches on TV, and since she was in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do, I visited her whenever I had time," he said. "Before this tournament, I thought about her and thought that I should play really hard in my next match. I came with the intention of giving my grandmother the title, and I'm very happy that it happened sooner than I thought," he said, attributing the joy of his victory to his maternal grandmother.
He also had a lot of luck. "After winning the World Championship last season, I was fortunate not to be eliminated in the first round (Round of 128) from the opening match of this season, but it was even worse when I was repeatedly eliminated in the Round of 32 to Round of 8," Cho said, adding, "I had the desire to finish in the top four or higher." 토토사이트
It wasn't easy. Luck was on their side, too. "In previous competitions, if I won easily in the quarterfinals and semifinals, I always lost in the finals. It's called the 'grim reaper'. There is a saying that if you come back from the dead, you play well. In the quarterfinals, I thought I really lost, but I came back," he said. "In the quarterfinals, the same thing happened again, and I thought, 'I have to win this. I thought, 'God help me,' so I knew I had to be more focused at the beginning of the final. Looking back at the final, I think he had a little bit of luck with the ball and I had a chance to break through. At 13-13 in the first set, I think it was the bank shot that he tried that was a little bit too thick and didn't work, and I capitalized on the opportunity that came my way."
However, no one would call his victory a lucky one. Cho was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) last season and has already moved up to second on the all-time wins list. This time, he didn't have much time to rest after the match, but he still managed to pull off the win with a high level of concentration.
"Money is also important (laughs). This is already my seventh game this year. I did well last season, but I was disappointed that I didn't do well this year," he said. "I also heard some people say, 'There are some good players coming in, so it's not even Jo Jae-ho. I set a goal to win the title once a year, and I'm glad I did it before the season ended."
The tournament was about restoring pride. "It was an opportunity for me to mature. "It's important not to give up," he said. "I never gave up until the last minute, and it turned out to be an upset, and that's why I have this trophy. I think the most important thing was to not give up for a second."
Despite being the favorite, Cho can never be too careful in the upsets-filled PBA. "I'm most comfortable playing against rivals. When I lose, I'm like, 'I can lose,' and there's no pressure," he said. "But when I get a match with a lesser-known player, the most pressure is when (people around me) say, 'You won that match,' and I'm like, 'Just win. It's the PBA, you never know where you're going to lose. It hurts me as much as it hurts him when they say he won because his name is not good enough. So it's a lot of pressure. If I'm playing Semi Seigner or Daniel Sanchez, I'm actually excited. When you're looking forward to a match like that, you think, 'What other great matches are there,' and you think, 'I hope it's going to be interesting.' The PBA needs to do well so that the players can play in a good environment."
A big weight lifted. The next goal is the team league, which is about to resume. "Now that I've accomplished my personal goal, my biggest goal is to win the championship for my team (NHL Card)," said Cho. "The fourth round is starting now, and I want to take care of my teammates and get to the top of the postseason. I'll take a shot at the championship chin since I won first, and I'll finish the Team League postseason with a good performance."
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