Pro Basketball All-Star Game… Team Lee Dae-seong and Team Heo Ung pushed

the nation’s top basketball players into a ‘war of the stars’. The 2022-2023 men’s professional basketball all-star game held at Suwon KT Sonic Boom Arena on the 15th was held in a confrontation between ‘Team Heo Woong’ and ‘Team Dae-Sung Lee’. Twenty-four players from both teams, selected through fan voting, launched flashy and bold attacks. When Heo Woong (Jeonju KCC), the number one player in the fan vote, lost the ball while attempting to break through after a brilliant dribble, cheers and exclamation crossed in the crowd. Big man Ha Yoon-ki (Suwon KT), who is 203.5 cm tall, received applause every time he put a dunk in, and Lee Gwan-hee (Changwon LG) showed a playful lay-up in a quick break after stealing.

◇ Korea VS Philippine Guard Showdown

The highlight of this All-Star Game was the 3-3 match between the Philippine guard and the Korean guard after the 3rd quarter. KBL (Korean Basketball League) has expanded the Asian quota from Japan to the Philippines from this season. Filipino players have emerged as a key variable in the ranking battle this season with their splendid offensive power.

Among the Filipino players on the domestic court, Lens Abando (Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation), Ronjay Avarientos (Ulsan Hyundai Mobis), and Sam Joseph Belrangel (Daegu Korea Gas Corporation) formed a team. Among domestic players, Kim Seon-hyung (Seoul SK), Byun Jun-hyung (KGC), and Lee Jung-hyun (Goyang Carrot) faced each other.

The pride of Korean basketball and Philippine basketball was at stake in a 5-minute match, and the result was a complete victory for the Philippines. The Philippines beat Korea 13 to 7 with splendid personal skills and momentum. South Korea increased the score by breaking through, but 2 points (3 points in 5-on-5 basketball) continued to miss the rim. On the other hand, the Philippines showed off its resilience by showing off shots from the outside and even exciting dunks twice.

In this game, Team Lee Dae-seong defeated Team Heo Woong 122-117. From the first half, Lee Dae-sung’s team took a huge lead, 80-51. Choi Jun-yong (SK), who was on the same team as Lee Dae-seong, provoked the opponent at halftime, saying, “I think we’ve already won, but I’ll try to get in first before the traffic gets stuck.” Team Heo Woong pursued with Jeon Seong-hyeon (Carrot) and Omari Spellman (KGC) in the second half of the game, but it was not enough.

Ha Yoon-gi, who led the team to 먹튀검증 victory by scoring 28 points, received 67 out of 77 votes and was selected as the All-Star Game MVP (Most Valuable Player). Ha Yoon-gi said, “Jun-yong hyung and Dae-seong hyung kept giving me (chance), saying, ‘Let’s hit MVP once. It was difficult because he gave so many passes,” he laughed.

◇ Heo Woong, the first winner of the

3-point contest In the 3-point contest, in which 25 3-point shots (20 1-point and 5 2-point shots) were thrown to determine the winner, a change occurred from the semifinals. KBL’s best 3-point shooter Jeon Seong-hyeon lost to Heo Woong and was eliminated. In the other semifinal, Choi Jun-yong, who won the 3-point contest three years ago, was caught by Kim Guk-chan (Hyundai Mobis), who rarely threw 3-pointers this season.

In the final, Heo Woong scored 19 points, beating Kim Guk-chan (15 points). Heo Woong, who played as a shooter for 8 seasons and scored 551 3 points (37.1% success rate), became the first 3-point contest winner after his debut. Heo Woong said, “I lost in the final last year, but I am happy to win this time.”

The first dunk contest, held 20 years after the 2002-2003 season, was a solo performance by Philippine guard Abando. Standing only 188cm tall, he showed off splendid dunks with extraordinary elasticity and received a perfect score of 50 from the judges in both the first and second rounds of the finals.

Abando said, “I feel good because I succeeded in the windmill dunk I practiced the day before (dunk after jumping and turning the ball around).” Ha Yoon-gi, the winner of last season’s dunk contest, said, “The thought of wanting to win two years in a row disappeared after seeing Abando. I think it will be difficult to cross Abando next year,” he said.