Director Jeon Chang-jin finally laughs with KCC from Super Team
Busan KCC manager Jeon Chang-jin, one of the best men’s professional basketball players, is striving to regain his self-esteem by advancing to his sixth championship game. Jeon expressed confidence that he can win no matter which team he plays.
KCC, led by Jeon, was called a “super team” even before the start of this season and was considered a strong candidate for the championship, but it lost face as it remained in fifth place in the regular league. However, as the main players’ return to power combined with Jeon’s tactical changes, he even grabbed the No. 1 Wonju DB in the regular league in the playoffs and advanced to the championship.
KCC won 80-63 in the fourth round of the 2023-2024 KBL semifinal PO against DB held at Sajik Indoor Stadium in Busan on the 21st. It advanced to the championship game for the first time in three seasons after the 2020-2021 season with three wins and one loss in the three games. Including the full-body team, it is the 11th time in history.
Notably, the fifth-ranked team in the regular league has made a new history of advancing to the championship match for the first time since the launch of the KBL in 1997. In all 12 matches between the fifth-ranked team and the league leader, the regular league winner won.
In terms of membership, the team is not at all strange about winning the title. Rather, it is regrettable that it ranked fifth in the regular season. In recent years, the team has formed a lineup of national teams including Heo Woong, Lee Seung-hyun, Ra Gun-ah and Song Kyo-chang, and recruited Choi Jun-yong, who was considered the biggest free agent before the start of the season, from the Seoul SK Wyverns. Song was also scheduled to be discharged during the season. Before the start of the season, Jeon Chang-jin even made a hot pledge, saying, “If I fail to win the title, I will quit.”
When the season started, the main players got hurt one after another, and the plan was twisted. Choi failed to play in the first five games of the season due to injury at the KBL Cup that he participated in the pre-season. Song joined the team in poor physical condition during the season, and was often absent at the end of the season due to calf and toe injuries. In the beginning of the season, Lee Seung-hyun and Ra Gun-ah suffered a slump, and thus lost four consecutive games. Even after the return of the injured players, they did not have enough time to play together, exposing loopholes in teamwork.
It wasn’t until the last minute of the regular season that KCC began to regain the power of the super team. Not only did the main players’ teamwork improve, but it was also attributable to the revival of exciting basketball as Jeon accepted the players’ request for early offensives. The key to early offensives is to quickly release the offense regardless of the 24-second time limit. Left and right wingmen who are highly aggressive play fastball, and when they can’t afford to, even big men jump under the goal to seek a goal before the opponent team takes the lead in defense.
Coach Jeon originally preferred a stable defense, but he accepted it willingly when Huh Woong asked for a change to Early Offence when he asked for a meeting with the coach last month. Huh Woong predicted that the players are excited about basketball, which scores more than usual, and that if Song Kyo-chang and Choi Jun-yong join, they will be reborn as a stronger team in PO.
Due to Jeon’s bold decision, KCC is regaining the prestige of the super team. In the semi-final PO against SK, which is considered to be a strong team in the league, it swept all three consecutive games with Early Offence at the semi-final PO. With strong attack, it has even secured the leading DB in the regular league in the semi-final PO.
Coach Jeon said in a broadcast interview after confirming his advance to the Champions League, “I am confident that any team will come,” adding, “I think we are enough opponents to win if we play.” In a situation where the opponent of the Champions League has not been decided, he pointed out the reason for his confidence by directly referring to the opposing teams. “KT won all four to six rounds, and LG had a hard time because of Asem Maray, but it is possible with Ra Gun-ah’s condition right now,” he said.
Suwon KT boasts of strong offense capability with top mercenary Paris Bath and national guard Hur Hoon at the forefront of this season, but has fewer scorers than KCC. Changwon LG has strength in its strong defense with Marei, dubbed “the ruler under the goal.” However, Jeon predicts that given KCC big man Ra Gun-ah’s performance has improved, it is worth a try.
KCC aims to become the champion for the first time in 13 years and the sixth time in his career since the 2010-2011 season in the championship match, which will be held from the 27th.
BY: 안전 토토사이트