Seoul SK, a professional basketball player, showed a strong ‘back heart’ and wrote a come-from-behind drama again.
SK, led by coach Jeon Hee-chul, beat Changwon LG 73-68 in the first leg away game of the 2022-2023 SKT Adot Pro Basketball semifinal playoff (3 wins in 5 games) held at the Changwon Gymnasium in Gyeongnam on the 14th.
SK overturned its inferiority by more than 10 points and succeeded in suppressing the baseline by winning a valuable victory in enemy territory. Teams that won the first leg of the semifinal playoffs advanced to the championship match 39 times out of 50, reaching 78%.
SK overturned by more than 10 points… 78% chance
SK won all of the last 9 regular league games, and also won 3 of their 6 playoff matches against Jeonju KCC, winning 13 consecutive victories in the recent regular league and postseason ran through In particular, in the 2nd and 3rd games of the playoffs in the 6th round against KCC, they lost by 15 and 16 points, respectively, and then came from behind to win.
On this day, SK was losing by 11 points at one point in the third quarter, 31-42. Blocked by LG’s pressure defense, turnovers continued one after another. LG led the game by connecting SK’s turnover with a quick attack.
However, the flow of the game changed from the middle of the third quarter. SK, which started chasing by scoring 4 points in a row with Jameel Warney’s penetration under the goal, quickly narrowed the gap as Kim Seon-hyeong and Choi Bu-kyung scored again. Warney, who led the chase, also put in a dunk shot that turned the score around 48-47 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter with a 52-49 3-point lead, SK seized the victory with Warney consistently scoring points and Choi Seong-won scoring a decisive 3-point shot. As they ran away to 73-57, SK even invited Kim Seon-hyeong and Choi Bu-gyeong to the bench to arrange their stamina.
Anticipating victory, SK reduced the tempo of the game, while LG started chasing after scoring 11 points with about a minute left in the game, but the remaining time was not enough.
Under the LG goal without Marey, Warney stirred
Warney, the best foreign player (MVP) in the regular season this season, recorded a ‘double double’ with 28 points and 19 rebounds, leading SK to a come-from-behind victory.
When LG’s foreign player, Asem Marey, was absent due to a calf injury, Warney was the sole player behind the goal. In addition, Choi Boo-gyeong played an active role with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and SK overpowered LG in the confrontation under the goal. On the outskirts, Choi Seong-won added strength by scoring 8 points, including 2 3-pointers.
On the other hand, LG struggled with Reggie Perry, who was brought in instead of Marey, scoring 17 points, but it was regrettable that only 5 rebounds were obtained. The vacancy of Marey, who ranked first in the regular league with an average of 12.5 rebounds per game, was felt even more.
It was also painful that Lee Jae-do and Lee Kwan-hee, the key scorers, only scored 4 and 6 points, respectively. Rather, Dante Cunningham and Kim Joon-il performed better, scoring 12 points and 11 points, respectively, but it was not powerful enough to overturn the win or loss.
As SK achieved a more comfortable victory than expected, they were able to prepare for the second match more relaxedly. On the other hand,메이저놀이터 LG had a lot of homework in the first game, such as defending against Warney and poor scoring by Lee Jae-do and Lee Kwan-hee.
The two teams will play the second game at the same place on the 16th at 6pm. Attention is focusing on whether SK will sweep 2 wins in enemy territory and go up to ‘Home’ Seoul, where the 3rd match will be held, or whether LG will succeed in counterattacking.