How do Koreans distinguish 연패(連覇) and 연패(連敗)?

Question

According to the Naver Korean dictionary, 연패(連覇) means “to be the champion in a row” and 연패(連敗) means “to lose in a row”. So they are absolutely identical in appearance but have completely opposite meanings. Are there any ways like in pronunciation or context to tell which meaning the following sentence has?

우리 팀은 이 대회에서 3연패를 기록했다.
(A) We lost three times in a row in this competition.
(B) We were the champions three times in a row in this competition.

For example, 연전연패 must mean “to lose continuously”.

Answer 1

I don't believe so. They are pronounced exactly the same. Don't they usually insert hanja if the context doesn't make it clear?

It's mentioned in this google book https://books.google.com/books?id=W7DNCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=%EC%97%B0%ED%8C%A8(%E9%80%A3%E6%95%97)&source=bl&ots=7H8oZI51pY&sig=ef_fWv1uIwrsDjJotFrHSUSiFAA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjguPbFsJXbAhXBjVkKHSCfC20Q6AEIPTAD#v=onepage&q=%EC%97%B0%ED%8C%A8(%E9%80%A3%E6%95%97)&f=false

a korean person asked the same thing http://www.korean.go.kr/front/onlineQna/onlineQnaView.do;front=1230290FF3E8B3AC3CEF6E4DC8F0D3DA?mn_id=61&qna_seq=100761&pageIndex=1

Answer 2

Not always,

The 연패(losing streak) is often used in 'games'

ex) match35, match 36, match 37..

The 연패(champion in a row) is often used in 'competitions'.

ex) premierleague , champions league ...

Because of the difficulty of classification, We write 연승 instead of 연패(champion in a row)