This year’s championship match had a unique structure in which the 1st and 2nd place teams in the regular league were both eliminated early in the semifinals and faced the 3rd place (KT) and 5th place (KCC) in the regular season. This is the third time in KBL playoff history that both teams that advanced directly to the semifinals failed to advance to the championship game, following the 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons. Both times, KCC placed 3rd and won the championship by defeating the 4th place team (Seoul Samsung, Wonju DB) in the playoffs.
KT is aiming for its first championship since its founding. Among the 10 professional basketball teams, KT is one of the three teams, along with Changwon LG and Daegu Korea Gas Corporation, that have no experience winning a championship game yet. In the 2006-07 season, they made it to the championship for the only time, but ended up losing in a close game that went all the way to the 7th game against Ulsan Hyundai Mobis. 17 years have passed and this time, the process of finishing the regular league in 3rd place and then advancing to the championship game by upsetting 2nd place Changwon LG was similar.
KCC aims to become the first 5th place team to win the championship. KCC is a famous place in professional basketball that has reached the top five times in total, but has no longer had a relationship with the top after its last win in the 2010-11 season. In the regular league, they recorded disappointing results due to injuries and organizational problems despite their stellar lineup of players, but in the spring basketball season, they became a completely different team. In the semifinals, they easily swept 4th place Seoul SK with 3 consecutive wins, and in the semifinals, they even overwhelmed the 1st place team Wonju DB, who won the regular season wire-to-wire championship, with 3 wins and 1 loss. It was also the first time in history that the 5th place team advanced to the championship game.
Additionally, the two teams have a connection with ‘Busan’ and ‘Jeon Chang-jin’ respectively. KT was based in Busan from 2003 to 2021 and then moved to Suwon. Following this, KCC, which was based in Jeonju, continued its legacy by moving to Busan ahead of this season.
Sajik Indoor Stadium, the mecca of basketball in Busan, which won the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games, is currently used as the home of KCC, but was the former home stadium of KT just three years ago. However, KT ultimately failed to win the championship in Busan, and KCC is attempting to win its first championship in Busan in the first year since relocating to the ointment. In professional basketball, the only time a Busan-based team won the championship was Busan Kia Enterprises (now Ulsan Hyundai Mobis) in 1997, the first year of its launch, 27 years ago.
Coach Jeon Chang-jin served as the head coach from the 2009-010 season to the 2014-15 season when KT was based in Busan. During the former coach’s tenure, current KT coach Song Young-jin played an active role as a key player at the time. As coach Jeon, he faced yet another battle with his favorite student, following DB’s coach Kim Joo-sung in the semifinals.
KT also achieved the club’s only regular league championship in the 2010-2011 season under coach Jeon Chang-jin. Coach Jeon achieved excellent results by leading the team to the semifinals as many as four times during his six-year tenure, but it is unfortunate that he was never able to win the championship. Coach Jeon, who took the opportunity to repeat his unfinished victory in Busan at KCC, is attempting to win for the fourth time in his career as a coach, 16 years after the 2007-08 season when he was Wonju DB.
The derby between brothers Heo Woong (KCC) and Heo Hoon (KT) is also the biggest highlight of this year’s championship game. The matchup between the two brothers, who are popular stars representing professional basketball, is evaluated as the best box office card. Neither Heo Woong nor Heo Hoon had any luck in winning despite their brilliant individual careers. Heo Woong experienced the championship for the first time in the 2014-015 season when he was DB, but lost 4 consecutive losses to Ulsan Hyundai Mobis and missed the championship. This year is Heo Hoon’s first championship match. Coincidentally, the two brothers found themselves in an ironic situation where they had to inflict defeat on their own blood relatives in order to win their first championship.
Heo Woong showed good performance in the playoffs, scoring clutch points at every critical point with an average of 16.1 points, backed by reliable teammates such as La Gun-ah, Choi Jun-yong, and Song Kyo-chang. On the other hand, Heo Hoon also scored 14.2 points, but was not in normal condition during the playoffs due to a thigh injury, and showed anxiety even when coexisting with ace Paris Bass. In particular, in the semifinals against LG, he almost became a traitor in the team’s defeat due to being sent off for 5 fouls at the last minute, but thanks to Bath’s one-man show, he recovered and took a breather, so he needs to regain his honor in the championship game.
The two brothers also appeared as players representing each team at the championship game media day held at the KBL Center in Seoul on the 25th and had a pleasant battle of nerves. Heo Woong expressed his aspirations, saying, “I am grateful that we are receiving attention as a match between brothers, but in the championship game, we will not let go of the tension and will win. I want to finish in Busan, my home city, with a total of 4 wins.” Heo Hoon also accepted, saying, “This is my first championship match, so I am desperate to win more than anyone else. I don’t want to lose to KCC even once. Even if I face my brother one-on-one, he is just an opponent.”
The match between La Gun-ah and Bass, the best new and old foreign players, is also expected to be worth watching. Bath was the league’s top scorer this season and the only one to survive among the regular season’s best five. In the playoffs, he played a total of 9 games starting from the semifinals, consistently performing well with averages of 27.6 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks. In the 7 playoff games, Laguna averaged 23.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks, achieving significantly better results than the regular season.
For Laguna, physical strength is considered a variable, and for Bass, mental strength is considered a variable. Laguna, a veteran in his mid-30s, saved his stamina by playing two fewer games than Bath, and second option Alize Johnson returned to normal in the championship game, allowing the team to take a breather. For Laguna, whose contract with KCC expires at the end of this season, she is especially motivated because this season could be her last attempt at winning on the Korean stage. It is evaluated that KT, where forward Bass plays as the first option, may be easier for Laguna than LG, which has Assem Marey, a traditional center with excellent height.
Bass’ explosive scoring ability is by far outstanding. In particular, against KCC, he scored an average of 33.3 points in 6 regular league games. However, the downside is that it has emotional ups and downs. Bass enjoys exchanging trash talk with opposing players, but he often gets excited when he fails to control his mind.
He scored 40 points in the final game of the semifinals, but he was in foul trouble early in the game, including a technical foul in the first quarter, and was between heaven and hell. The fact that Bath’s matchup opponent at KCC is likely to be Choi Jun-yong, who is also good at nerve warfare and trash talk, is also expected to be a variable.
The regular league match between KT and KCC was a close match with 3 wins and 3 losses. In the playoffs, KCC won in both the semifinals of the 2005-06 season and the semifinals of the 2009-10 season. This year’s series, which has reserved the ‘first’ title no matter which team wins, is expected to be a more exciting game than ever before.
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