‘Suwon KT leaving Busan vs. Busan KCC leaving Jeonju’ Professional Basketball Championship ‘Busan Derby’

[OSEN=서정환 기자] Which team will Busan fans support? The professional basketball championship game is the ‘Busan Derby’.

Suwon KT, ranked 3rd in the regular league, will face Busan KCC, ranked 5th, in the ‘2023-24 Season Cheong Kwan-Jang Professional Basketball Championship Game 1’ at Suwon KT Sonic Boom Arena at 2 p.m. on the 27th.

There is no need to further emphasize the importance of the first round of the best-of-seven championship. KT is one of three teams, along with LG and Korea Gas Corporation, that have not won the championship. KCC is the first 5th seed in professional basketball history to advance to the championship game and even win the championship.

Coincidentally, both teams have deep ties to Busan. KT was based in Busan from 2004 to 2021, during the predecessor KTF era. In particular, the club won its first regular league championship with 41 wins and 13 losses in the 2010-11 season under coach Jeon Chang-jin. The student who contributed to the championship at the time was coach Youngjin Song.

This was the last time a professional team based in Busan won the championship. The last professional soccer championship was won by the Busan Daegu Royals in 1997. Busan I’Park is ranked 3rd in K-League 2, the second division. The last time Lotte won a professional baseball championship was in 1992. Lotte is at the bottom this season.

KT ultimately failed to give Busan the championship and left for Suwon in 2021. Busan, Korea’s second largest city, lost its professional basketball team. The fans’ anger was great. It was a huge loss both in terms of marketability and symbolism for professional basketball as a whole.

The home of Kia Enterprises, the first-year professional basketball champion, was Busan. Afterwards, Kia was re-established as Hyundai Mobis and moved its headquarters to Ulsan. The painful memories of Busan fans losing their professional basketball team were repeated.

KCC moved to Busan, where there had been no men’s professional basketball for a while, ahead of this season. KCC, which was in conflict with Jeonju City over the construction of a new gym, suddenly announced its relocation to Busan. This time, Jeonju fans who supported KCC for 22 years were angry. Jeonju, the most popular hometown of KBL, lost its team.

After KT left, Busan fans who said they would not watch basketball began to show affection for KCC. KCC, which formed a ‘super team’ including Heo Woong, Choi Jun-yong, Lee Seung-hyun, Song Kyo-chang, and La Gun-ah, also achieved good results at the box office.

In the end, KCC, which had been on the rise since the end of the regular season, was on a roll starting from the semifinal playoffs. KCC defeated 4th place SK with 3 wins, 0 losses, and an average of 21.7 points in 3 games. In the semifinals, KCC only allowed one win to regular league champion DB, finishing with 3 wins and 1 loss. In the three games KCC won, the score difference was a whopping 17 points.

Will Busan fans support KT, who still have regrets? Or should I support KCC, which I have started to develop a new affection for? Will Sajik Indoor Stadium, the largest in Korea with 14,000 seats, be filled with basketball fans? / [email protected]

[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]