KGC’s sixth men played a big role, contributing to the team’s escape from losing streak.
Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation won 76-68 in a match against Suwon KT Sonicboom in the 2022-2023 SKT Adot Professional Basketball regular league held at Anyang Gymnasium on the 18th.
The leader, KGC, has recently stagnated with three consecutive losses. Coach Kim Sang-sik also mentioned the aftereffects of EASL in a pre-interview and revealed that he tried to raise the team atmosphere.
Even at the beginning of the game, the flow of KGC was not very good. In the first quarter, KGC, who was caught up in KT’s flow and couldn’t easily find the pace, ended up giving up the lead.
It was after the input of the Sixth Man that the atmosphere began to change. In particular, Park Ji-hoon (6 points, 6 assists, 2 steals) and Jeong Jun-won (11 points, 4 rebounds) were outstanding.
Park Ji-hoon, who was replaced by Byun Jun-hyung and stepped on the court, harassed KT’s frontline based on his activity level and energy level. After the 2nd quarter, KT’s advanced resources struggled with ball distribution and movement not being smooth. Here, Park Ji-hoon did not have a good field goal sense, but he delivered 6 assists and energized the offense.
With the departure of Bae Byung-joon, Jung Joon-won, whose weight has increased, properly lived up to director Kim Sang-shik’s expectations안전놀이터. Jeong Joon-won, who recorded the most playing time (20 minutes and 56 seconds) in his individual season, scored after grabbing offensive rebounds one after another, and even made a three-point shot. Jung Joon-won’s hustle play, which did not spare his body, made the fans who visited the stadium go wild.
With Jung Joon-won and Park Ji-hoon at the forefront, KGC did not easily hand over the flow to KT after succeeding in reversing in the third quarter. In addition to the injury gap, Byun Jun-hyung had a somewhat sluggish day than the season average, but KGC played the game without worry thanks to the struggle of the sixth men. Yang Hee-jong also set the center of the team with a buzzer beater at the end of the 3rd quarter.
On this day, the court margin recorded by Jung Jun-won and Park Ji-hoon was +14 and +16, respectively, the highest among players from both teams. Omari Spellman was the most outstanding player, but it is difficult to discuss the game today without excluding the two.
The command tower also smiled broadly at the performance of the Sixth Men. Manager Kim Sang-sik said, “I tried to put (Byeon) Jun-hyung on a short break, but (Park) Ji-hoon and other players did well, so it went easier.”
Regarding Jung Joon-won, he praised him, saying, “I told him to throw a chance with confidence and catch it when the time came to catch it and shoot or break through, but he did a really good job when it was important.
KGC, which could have been in a crisis with 4 consecutive losses, escaped from the swamp of losing streak with the strength of the 6th men. If the starting lineup and backup perform evenly, the playoff prospects can also become brighter.
KGC has 4 games left until the end of the regular season. Will Park Ji-hoon and Jung Joon-won continue to perform well in the rest of the regular league schedule?