[WKBL 제공. 재판매 및 DB 금지]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dong-chan = The 2024-2025 women’s professional basketball season begins on the 27th.
The 2024-2025 season, in which Hana Bank serves as the title sponsor, will begin the regular league with a match between Bucheon Hana Bank and Cheongju KB held at Bucheon Gymnasium in Gyeonggi-do at 2:30 pm on the 27th.
It will be interesting to see whether Hana Bank will be able to break out of the quagmire of consecutive losses against KB.
Hana Bank failed to win once against KB last season and suffered 9 consecutive losses.
After losing all 6 games in the regular season, they bowed out after losing all 3 games when they met in the semifinal playoffs.
The most recent example of Hana Bank beating KB was an 82-69 victory in February 2023 during the 2022-2023 season.
First of all, the opening game of this season is a good opportunity for Hana Bank to catch KB.
This is because KB suffered a major power leak after Park Ji-soo, the main player who ranked first in the regular league last season, left for the Turkic League, while Hana Bank strengthened its bottom line by bringing in Jinan, who played for Busan BNK, in the free agent (FA) market.
In particular, Hana Bank is evaluated as having established a double post with Jinan Yang In-young, which could become the ‘nucleus of a sensation’ in this season where there is no ‘absolutely strong player’.
On the other hand, KB has recently reigned as a league powerhouse with Park Ji-soo at the forefront, but many predict that it will fall to the bottom of the league this season without Park Ji-soo.
In fact, KB was unable to fill Park Ji-soo’s absence even in the 2022-2023 season, when Park Ji-soo played only 9 regular league games, and remained in 5th place.
[WKBL 제공. 재판매 및 DB 금지]
KB’s players’ motivation to show that ‘we can do it without Park Ji-su’ and Hana Bank’s pride that ‘we can’t lose anymore against KB’ are competing for victory in the opening game.
Moreover, Hana Bank is bound to have a strong will to win as it is taking its first step with the home opener of the season in which it is the title sponsor.
The ‘ace match’ between Hana Bank’s Kim Jong-un and KB’s Kang I-seul is also an important point to watch before the opening match.
Also, the performance of Japanese players in the Asia quota introduced this year is also something to watch.
KB selected Moe Nagata and Moe Shida through the Asian quota, and also selected Japanese compatriot Lee Yeo-myeong in the domestic player draft.
Yurina Watabe, who was selected by Hana Bank in the Asian quarter, was excluded from the team due to contract termination, and Yuzuki Ishida, selected in the second round, is preparing to play in the opening game.
This game will be broadcast live by KBS-1TV from 2:20 PM on the 27th.
Report via KakaoTalk okjebo
Unauthorized reproduction/redistribution, AI learning and use prohibited>
2024/10/24 10:37 Sent
