The Changwon LG won their fourth straight game, sending Seoul SK to their third straight defeat. Along with the wins and losses, the ratio of ‘transfer student forwards’ on both teams was also mixed.
LG defeated SK 69-50 in a home game of the 2023-2024 regular season at Changwon Gymnasium on Thursday.
After starting the season with three straight losses, LG rebounded with four straight wins.
SK (3-3), on the other hand, suffered their third straight defeat despite the return of their leading scorer Jamil Warney from injury.
The game featured a good mix of international forwards who have moved teams since the end of last season.
Oh Se-geun, who wore the SK jersey after leaving defending champions Anyang’s Jung Kwan-jang, struggled to live up to the hype of being the best big man in Korea.
Playing around 23 minutes, he missed all six of his field goals, scoring just one point.
On the other hand, Yang Hong-seok, who mostly matched up with Osegun under the basket instead of playing his usual position as an outside shooter, did his part with 10 points and five rebounds.
The forward, who played for Suwon KT until last season, especially helped LG pull away with a seven-point run in the decisive third quarter.
He proved why LG chose him with his defensive prowess, not losing the height battle against the bigger Oh Se-geun.
For LG, foreign player Asem Marei paced SK with 16 points and 20 rebounds.
For SK, no one else scored in double figures except for Warney (22 points).
Last season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kim Sun-hyung also played 27 minutes, but managed just four points and two assists while committing three turnovers.
With the score at 18 points with just over seven minutes left in the game, SK coach Jeon Hee-chul made a last-ditch effort to bring in shooter Heo Il-young, but he was unable to close the gap.
Goyang Sono defeated Jeong Kwan-jang 84-82 away from home in a close game.
The Sono, who were tied for last place with Daegu KOGAS (1-4) the day before, managed to climb out of last place with their second win of the season (4-4).
Chung Kwan-jang, on the other hand, suffered their third loss of the season at home (2-2).
For SONO, ace Lee Jung-hyun spearheaded the offence with 19 points and eight assists.
Shooter Jeon Sung-hyun also chipped in with 20 points on five three-pointers.
Foreign players Diyonte Davis (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Choi Hyun-min (11 points, 7 rebounds) also contributed inside and out.
Park Ji-hoon contributed 21 points and six assists for Jung Kwan-jang. 먹튀검증