2024-05-06 16:15:43
The ‘star among stars’ who led the star corps KCC’s 5th place revolt in the ‘regular league’
Laguna, who was on the decline, dominated under the goal in ‘rejuvenation mode’ as PO
Heo Woong, who took the center stage of the ‘super team’… Overcomes younger brother Heo Hoon and wins first championship
Busan KCC, a professional basketball team that won the championship for the first time in 13 years, has so many star players that it is called a ‘super team.’ But among the stars, the brightest stars were Laguna and Heoung.
KCC won 88-70 in the 5th game (4 wins out of 7) of the ‘2023-2024 CheongKwanJang Professional Basketball’ championship game against Suwon KT held at Suwon KT Arena at 6 pm on the 5th.
With this, KCC, with a series record of 4 wins and 1 loss, became the champion for the first time in 13 years since the 2010-2011 season.
This is the first time that the 5th place team in the regular league has advanced to the championship game, and the first time it has won the championship.
KCC, which was called a ‘super team’ by building a national team lineup consisting of Heo Woong, La Geon-ah, Song Kyo-chang, Choi Jun-yong, and Lee Seung-hyun, finished in 5th place in the regular league.
Although it was considered a strong candidate for the championship by coaches of other teams, when the lid was opened, it fell far short of expectations.
He suffered from injuries throughout the regular season and was unable to plan his full strength.
However, towards the end of the regular season, the injured returned and the team started to show off its power as a super team.
Especially in short-term matches, the value of the super team shined even brighter. Unlike Seoul SK, Wonju DB, and KT, which relied on specific players, national team-level players stepped up to solve the problem for each position.
Among them, the ones that shined the most were La Gun-ah and Heo Woong.
Laguna showed off her best skills in this PO. It was unusual from the 6th round PO against SK. He averaged 19.3 points and 11 rebounds in three games, outperforming professional basketball’s best big man Jamil Warney.
In addition, in the 4th PO game of the semifinals against DB, ranked first in the regular league, he played an average of 33 minutes and 25 seconds and posted 26.3 points and 14.8 rebounds, contributing greatly to advancing to the championship game for the first time in 3 years.
Even in the championship match, Laguna stood out. La Gun-ah, who consistently kept under KCC’s goal, scored 22 points and 12 rebounds in the 3rd home game against KT, surpassing DB coach Kim Joo-sung (1,502 points) and becoming the highest PO scorer in professional basketball history (1,521 points).
La Gun-ah did his part with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds in the 4th home game, which was the deciding factor, and scored 20 points in the 5th away game that led to the championship.
Laguna, who is considered one of the best foreign players in KBL history, has recently been evaluated as on the decline.
In fact, the average regular league playing time this season was 21 minutes and 16 seconds, which was less than last season (28 minutes and 8 seconds), and scoring (15.6 points) and rebounds (8.4) were the lowest in the past three years.
However, the appearance at PO was completely different. She flew around the court as if she had been rejuvenated, and her power only increased as the game went on.
Although Laguna’s condition has improved, it is evaluated that Laguna’s destructive power has been further maximized due to the even performance of stars such as Heo Woong, Choi Jun-yong, Song Kyo-chang, and Lee Seung-hyun.
While La Gun-ah dominated under the goal, Heo Woong shone in offense and defense as KCC’s leader.
Heo Woong is acknowledged by everyone as the best star in KBL. He is the most popular player in professional basketball history (5 times) and ranked first in All-Star voting for 3 consecutive years.
Along with popularity, he also had talent. He played most consistently at KCC, which was plagued by injury demons. He averaged 31 minutes and 12 seconds in 52 regular league games, scoring 15.9 points, 3.7 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game.
In the 6th round PO, he played an average of 31 minutes and 1 second in 3 games, scoring 16.7 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game, and in the 4th round PO, he averaged 15.8 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 rebounds, which was the highest score among domestic players.
In this championship, it attracted attention as a brotherly match with Heo Hoon, the MVP of the 2019-2020 season. Although it was difficult to determine superiority or inferiority in personal records, Heo Woong, who ultimately led the team to victory, smiled.
Older brother Heo Woong contributed decisively to KCC’s dominance in the first game with 17 points, the most in the team. He also scored 16 points in Game 2, the only game KCC lost.
In Game 3, which was a watershed moment, Heo Woong once again scored 26 points, the most on the team, including 3 3-pointers, and added 7 assists.
Then, in Game 4, which actually put a wedge in the game, Heo Woong played a big role inside and outside with 14 points, 10 assists, and a double-double.
It was Heo Woong who took the center stage in KCC, which was filled with such talented superstars.
Heo Woong, who wore the DB uniform as the 5th overall pick in the 2014 draft, has been showing off his skills as the season progresses.
Although he struggled in the regular league after transferring to Super Team KCC, he enjoyed the joy of reaching the top of the championship for the first time in his life through consistent play.
[서울=뉴시스]
2024-05-06 16:15:43