Old vs. New: Busan Based Teams Face Off in KBL Championship First Round Showdown

Heo Woong and Heo Hoon ‘brothers’, old and new ‘Busan based teams’ face off… KCC vs KT Championship 1st Round on the 27th

Inserted: 2024-04-25 15:36:03 Modified: 2024-04-25 18:18:15

Reporter Daejin Lee djrhee@busan.com

Both teams confident of winning 4-0
KCC is V6, the 5th place team’s first challenge for the throne
Unconnected KT aims to be the first to reach the summit
Suwon on the 27th and 29th, Busan and Gyeonggi on the 1st and 3rd.

Brothers Heo Woong (right) of Busan KCC and Heo Hoon of Suwon KT place their hands on the trophy and vow to win at the media day of the professional basketball championship held at the KBL Center in Seoul this morning. r 25th. Yonhap News Coaches and players of Busan KCC and Suwon KT shout out a fight with the championship trophy in the background at the professional basketball championship media day held at the KBL Center in Seoul on the 25th. random news

Busan KCC and Suwon KT will compete for this season’s (KBL) professional basketball crown. This championship match will add to the interest of the fans with various points to watch, such as the clash between the brothers Heo Woong and Heo Hoon, and the match between old and new teams from Busan. KCC coach Jeon Chang-jin is ready to avenge the championship he was unable to achieve during his time as coach of Busan KT, and KT coach Song Young-jin is also determined to lift the championship trophy he lost during his time as a player. .

In the 2023-2024 KBL Championship, which will start on the 27th, Busan KCC will win for the 6th time in history, and Suwon KT will challenge for the first time in history. The biggest concern for fans is the match between the aces of the two teams, Heo Woong and Heo Hoon. The eldest and second sons of former national team coach Heo Jae, the ‘basketball president’, are competitors representing the league. Heo Woong reached the championship game for the first time in 9 years since the 2014-2015 season when he was a rookie in Wonju Dongbu, and this is Heo Hoon’s first performance.

The relationship between the two teams, which intertwine through ‘home town,’ is also interesting. KT was based in Busan for 17 years starting from the 2003-2004 season, and then left for Suwon, Gyeonggi-do for the 2021-2022 season. KCC played in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do for over 20 years, starting from the 2001-2002 season, and moved to Busan before this season to fill the void left by KT.

Busan fans seem to be hoping that KCC’s ‘transfer student’ will show their revenge against KT, who suddenly left for the metropolitan area. Among Korea’s four major professional sports, namely baseball, football, basketball, and volleyball, the last time a team from Busan won the championship was in 1997 when the K League Busan Daewoo Royals and KBL Busan Kia Enterprises won.

KCC coach Jeon Chang-jin was in charge of Busan KT from the 2009-2010 season to the 2014-2015 season. During this period, coach Song Young-jin played an active role as a KT player, and a ‘priest-fighter’ battle was achieved for the championship trophy.

This season, the record of the two teams against each other in the regular season was 3 wins and 3 losses. KT won rounds 1 to 3, and KCC won rounds 4 to 6. KCC, being the first team in history to advance to the championship game as the 5th place team in the regular league, has a physical advantage over KT, which brought the playoffs in the 4th game on the 21st ended and fought until the 5th game. on the 24th. However, KT’s regular league position (3rd place) is higher than KCC, so they will play 4 games (games 1, 2, 5, and 7) of the best-of-7 series at home.

If KCC reaches the top, it will achieve V6 for the first time in 13 years since the 2010-2011 season. This is the second highest number of times, following Ulsan Hyundai Mobis’ 7 times. On the other hand, KT is trying to win its first ever championship. After finishing second in the 2006-2007 season, they reached the championship game for the first time in 17 years. Among the 10 professional basketball teams, there are three teams that have not won the championship game: KT, Changwon LG, and Daegu Korea Gas Corporation.

KCC’s line-up is so great that it feels awkward to be in 5th place in the regular league. The starting players, including Heo Woong, Lee Seung-hyun, Choi Jun-yong, La Geon-ah, and Song Kyo-chang, are all at the national team level and are known as the ‘senior team’. KT leads with Heo Hoon and Paris Bass, a powerful one-two punch.

At the media day held at the KBL Center in Seoul on the 25th, both teams were confident of winning. KT coach Song Young-jin said, “It’s an honor to come to the championship game with coach Jeon Chang-jin, who was with me when I was a player,” and added, “I will do my best to become champion as it’s hard to get there.” KCC coach Jeon Chang-jin said, “We created a good team with bold investments that won the envy and jealousy of 9 clubs. “For the sake of basketball fans, KCC has to win, and I believe they will,” he said firmly.

Heo Woong and Heo Hoon also predicted a 4-0 win with ‘Same Bed, Different Dreams’. KCC Heo Woong said, “I really want to win in Busan. When he said, “I only think the 6th game at most,” KT Heo Hoon said, “I think it would be nice to win, whether it’s Busan or Suwon. “I don’t want to lose to KCC even once,” he said, reiterating his determination to win four games in a row.

Meanwhile, the first leg of the championship game between the two teams will be held at the KT Arena in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do at 2 pm on the 27th.

Reporter Daejin Lee djrhee@busan.com

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