Professional basketball representative rivals Heo Woong (KCC), the eldest son of former national team coach Heo Jae, and second son Heo Hoon (KT) will clash for the first championship trophy in their lives. A match that attracts attention with various stories, such as a match between KCC coach Jeon Chang-jin and KT coach Song Young-jin, who had a relationship with a priest in the past, and a clash between former and current Busan teams.
KBL held a media day for the ‘2023-2024 Cheong Kwan-Jang Professional Basketball’ championship match at the KBL Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul at 11 am on the 25th, and coaches and key players from both teams participated and expressed their determination.
KT, which ranked 3rd in the regular league with 33 wins and 21 losses, beating Ulsan Hyundai Mobis in the semifinal playoffs (PO) and Changwon LG in the semifinals PO, advanced to the championship game again for the first time in 17 years after finishing as runners-up in the 2006-2007 season. Aim for victory
Against this, KCC ranked 5th in the regular league with 30 wins and 24 losses, but beat Seoul SK in the semifinals PO and first place Wonju DB in the semifinals PO.
KCC, which advanced to the championship game by placing 5th in the regular league for the first time in history, is attempting to win its first championship in 13 years since the 2010-2011 season. If KCC, who reached the championship game for the first time in three seasons, wins, they will reach the top for the sixth time in total.
Although KT is on top in terms of regular league performance, this season’s regular league matchup was tight with 3 wins and 3 losses.
As the game unfolds and the outcome cannot be easily predicted, various stories related to the two teams are of interest. There are several keywords such as brothers’ rebellion and priests’ battle.
Heo Woong and Heo Hoon, league representative rivals and sons of former national team coach Heo Jae, meet at the final hurdle.
Heo Woong advanced to the championship game again for the first time in 9 years since the 2014-2015 season when he was a rookie at Wonju Dongbu, and this is Heo Hoon’s first championship game. Neither player has experience winning a championship, so a fierce match is expected.
Heo Woong said, “First of all, there is a lot of interest as it is a battle between brothers, and I will also do my best without letting go of my nerves.” He added, “I want to confirm the win in Busan as much as possible. I want to win in the 4th game, and if not, I will face the 6th game.” “I want to win,” he said.
Heo Hoon also said, “As this is my first championship game, I am more desperate to win than anyone else. I will do my best to have a fun game and a game with no regrets. I don’t want to lose to KCC even once. Let’s win 4-0 and finish quickly and win.” “I will do my best,” he emphasized.
With a fierce match expected, director Jeon Chang-jin made the atmosphere even hotter by revealing an episode related to ‘Brother Heo’.
Coach Jeon said, “During the off-season last summer, Heo Woong asked me to buy him a meal, so I went there, and Heo Hoon came out with me. It was a famous meat restaurant, and Heo Woong ate bulgogi and Heo Hoon ate expensive sirloin. Heo Woong just watched that, so I was very upset. “My heart was heavy and upset because good (Heo) Woong always gave in to bad (Heo) Hoon,” he said.
He added, “During the few games leading up to the championship game, I hope you will think of him as the opposing team’s ace rather than your younger brother. When Woong makes up his mind, he makes up his mind, and that’s his charm. I hope he plays the championship game with that mindset.”
Heo Hoon, who heard this, countered by saying, “My brother, the director is coming, so I ate bulgogi because I can eat it quickly to finish the meal quickly.” Heo Woong said, “I ate bulgogi (cheaper than sirloin) out of consideration for the director, but Hoon ate sirloin. “I ate it all by myself,” he said in a verbal battle.
At the same time, Heo Hoon joked, “It’s already war,” raising the mood for the championship game.
While predicting a sparkling match, it also predicted a fair match with no injuries.
“I think it’s an honor for the family,” said Heo Woong, who said, “Both Hoon and I had a hard time coming up with quite a few injuries. I hope we can do our best and finish the match without getting hurt.”
Heo Hoon also said, “I will be desperate and do my best to achieve good results,” and added, “I hope my brother plays well and finishes without injury.”
Director Jeon, who revealed his secret story with the Heo brothers, also has a special relationship with director Song Young-jin.
When Coach Jeon was leading KT, Coach Song was a key player. The two men, who were teacher and student on the same team, reunited as enemies in the championship game as time passed.
Coach Song, who met his teacher as an enemy, said, “It is an honor to play in the championship game with a coach with whom I have good memories as a player,” and emphasized, “He is a coach I respect, but a game is a game. I will do my best to surpass the coach and become a champion.” did.
Coach Jeon, who heard this, said, “After the PO Media Day for the last 6 rounds, we had a meal. As we parted ways, I said to Coach Song, ‘Let’s meet again in the championship match,’ and that’s what happened.”
He continued, “In the world of competition, there is no need for disciples or juniors. I think it is more romantic to tip a glass of soju at the end,” and added, “I have no intention of giving in. I will work harder and study more so that I can beat young coach Song.” all.
The two teams also have a common keyword: ‘hometown of Busan’.
KT was based in Busan from the 2003-2004 season to the 2020-2021 season, but moved its home stadium to Suwon, Gyeonggi-do from the 2021-2022 season.
KCC had used Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do as its home base since the 2001-2002 season, but moved to Busan starting this season.
From KT’s perspective, it means that they will be playing in the championship match at their old home stadium.
This championship match, which contains many stories, will be played as a best-of-seven series, starting with the first match held at Suwon KT Sonic Boom Arena at 2 p.m. on the 27th.
The 1st and 2nd games will be played at KT’s home, which has a higher regular league ranking, and the 3rd and 4th games will be played at KCC’s home stadium.
If there is no winner until the 4th game, it will be played home and away. The 5th game will be held in Suwon, the 6th game will be held in Busan, and the final game will be held in Suwon.
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