Hamo Jinju overcomes a 9-point deficit to win in dramatic fashion. It was a game of a lifetime for KXO League newcomer Hamo Jinju.
On the 24th, at the ‘NH Bank 2024 KXO 3×3 Hongcheon Tour and KXO League Round 2’ held in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do, the KXO League, Hamo Jinju overcame a 2-11 deficit to record a thrilling 22-19 victory.
Hamo Jinju, a 3×3 team founded by the Jinju Basketball Association in 2024, is currently participating in the 2024 KXO League with seven players, including Kim Ji-hoon, Kim Sang-hoon, Kim Min-soo, Kang Byul, Jeon Sung-jin, Lee Sung-joon, and 바카라사이트 Koo Beom-mo.
Jinju Basketball Association President Kim In-sung, who saw the potential of 3×3 by organizing the KXO 3×3 Pearl Tour for the past two years, has been working hard to create a team since the end of last year, and Hamo Jinju is the team that came to fruition in 2024.
The team name “Hamo Jinju” has a meaning. Hamo is a representative character of Jinju City based on the otter, a natural monument that lives in Jinyang Lake and Namgang River, and other sports registered with the Jinju Sports Federation are not allowed to use the name. However, the city of Jinju specifically authorized 3×3 teams to use the name Hamo for one year to encourage the creation of 3×3 teams, and the newly launched Jinju 3×3 team will be able to use the local name of ‘Hamo Jinju’.
After recording their first win of the league in the first round, Hamo Jinju finished the first round in fourth place. Despite the first win, the team was not happy with their performance. After consulting with the team, Hamo Jinju went into the second round with a new lineup of Jeon Sung-jin, Lee Sung-joon, Kim Sang-hoon, and Kang Byeol, and produced a masterpiece from the first game of the second round.
In the first game of the second round against AssistX Basketball University, Hamo Jin-ju fell behind 0-5 early in the game after giving up two three-pointers to AssistX Basketball University’s Lee Young-seok. Hamo Jinju struggled from the field early in the game and went 2-11 from the floor, allowing ASSIST X Basketball University to take the lead.
In a 3-on-3 game where 21 points is enough to win the game, Hamo Jinju was down by double digits just over three minutes into the game because they were playing too fast. The deficit looked deep.
However, the Pearl Men’s grit led to a great late-game comeback. Finding the solution to the game on defense, Hamo Jinju used its only timeout early on to stop Assist X Basketball University’s flow.
Hamo Jinju, which increased its defensive intensity after the midway point of the game, quickly closed the gap to 9-13 after a breakaway basket by Jeon Sung-jin and a successful defense by Kim Sang-hoon. After Kim Sang-hoon once again stopped the opponent’s offense, Hamo Jinju tied the game at 14-14 with a free throw by Kim Sang-hoon with 3:30 left in the game.
Assist X Basketball University then regained the lead, but Hamo Jinju tied the game for the second time with a two-pointer by Jeon Sung-jin, and Kim Sang-hoon’s three-pointer set the stage for a dramatic comeback victory.
After picking up a team foul early on, Hamo Jin-ju was fouled by Assist X Basketball University’s Lee Young-seok to make it 18-19, but Kim Sang-hoon responded with two free throws to make it 20-19.
With the game on the brink of a dramatic victory, Hamo Jin-ju hit a game-tying two-pointer with 1:32 left in regulation to turn a nine-point deficit into a three-point lead and complete a thrilling comeback.
After defeating Team Hongcheon in the second game of the second round, Hamo Jin-ju finished the first day of the second round tied for first place with Hanwool E&C with two straight wins.