From last place to first place… Busan lost in my sister’s basketball!

Busan BNK’s momentum is scary. BNK finished the first round of the Hana Bank 2024-2025 Women’s Professional Basketball (WKBL) season, which ended on the 13th, with all 5 wins. BNK was considered a favorite to win even before the opening, but winning all five games was unexpected. It was completely different from last season, when they ranked last in the regular league (6 wins, 24 losses).

The effect of rebuilding the team by bringing in free agent (FA) players through active investment was visible from the beginning. After the end of last season, BNK brought in Park Hye-jin, a key member of Asan Woori Bank, a team that won the championship 12 times in total, and Sonia Kim from Incheon Shinhan Bank, who scored an average double-digit score for four consecutive seasons. BNK had good players, but it lacked veterans to take center stage, but with the two players serving as the focal point, the team performed evenly in various categories. It ranks first in scoring (69.4 points), assists (18.2), interceptions (7.8), and fewest points allowed (55.2 points).

The veteran effect showed its true value in times of crisis, such as easily overturning a game that was being dragged by 10 points. After winning by 5 points in the opening game (69-64), all four remaining games were won by more than 10 points. As veterans took center stage, the players’ performance also improved. In particular, starting guard Ahn Hye-ji stood out by improving her weak outside shooting and ranking first in 3-point shooting (13 points). Lee So-hee also scored a whopping 22 points in the last game of the first round on the 11th. BNK coach Park Jeong-eun said in an interview after the game on the 11th, “A lot of things changed before the season. In the first round, each game felt like a test. “I think I did well by sticking to the basics and the defense I practiced,” he said.

Woori Bank and Cheongju KB Stars, both without key players, were tied for second place (3 wins, 2 losses). Woori Bank, which lost Park Hye-jin to BNK, suffered a major loss as even Park Ji-hyun, its main scoring resource, went to the New Zealand league. Danbi Kim is ranked first in scoring, catching bounced balls (rebounds), and 2-point shots, and there is ‘winning DNA’, so expectations are high on the second round starting on the 14th.

Reporter Nam Ji-eun [email protected]