President, premier congratulate Team Taiwan on 2nd WBC victory

Taipei, March 8 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Sunday congratulated Team Taiwan on its second victory in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) after defeating South Korea 5-4 in an extra-inning game earlier that day.

In a Facebook post, Lai thanked "all the Taiwan heroes," calling them "our proudest Team Taiwan" for keeping Taiwan's hopes alive of advancing to the quarterfinals in the final group-stage game.

He said every player fought to the very end to secure the win, quoting opener Gu Lin Ruei-yang (古林睿煬) as saying "South Korea is super tough, but we are also super tough!" in an interview Saturday.

"Team Taiwan directly proved this statement true with their performance," Lai wrote.

In a separate Facebook post, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) also congratulated the team on its victory.

He thanked Taiwanese fans who supported the team at the Tokyo Dome, at home and at watch parties, saying their encouragement motivated the players.

Cho noted that Taiwan's chances of reaching the quarterfinals depend on the results of other games and called on fans to continue sending positive energy so Team Taiwan can move forward to the quarterfinals in Miami.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), meanwhile, posted a video on his Facebook account ahead of the game in which he cheered on Team Taiwan.