The Wonju Divisional (DB) won their second straight game of the season against ‘super team’ Busan KCC. Big man Kang Sang-jae, the team’s captain, stood out.
The DB won 87-85 against the Busan KCC in the 2023-2024 regular season at the Wonju General Gymnasium in Gangwon Province on Thursday. It was the second time this season that Divi defeated KCC after their home opener on March 29. Kang Sang-jae (25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) and Dedrick Lawson (20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists) recorded double-doubles, while Lee Sun Albano chipped in with 17 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
Divi jumped out to a 9-1 lead, while KC fell into a four-game losing streak.
The first half was a close one. It’s hard to say that either side was in control of the game. Lawson, Kang Sang-jae, and Albano scored evenly for the D’s, while the C’s countered with Choi Jun-yong, Alize DeJohnson, and Ragan-ah. The score at halftime was 44-44.
Divi didn’t lose their focus in the second half. Choi Seung-wook, Kang Sang-jae, and Albano hit back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead. D.B. played a fast-paced game in the third quarter, scoring seven points on fast breaks, which tired out KC, who had a relatively thin bench. With the score 85-77 with just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter, they allowed Heo Woong to hit two 3-pointers, but Lawson drew a foul on his opponent with 11 seconds left and made both free throws to seal the win.
Kang Sang-jae met with the media after the game and said, “KCC is a super team that is so fast and you can’t stop anyone, so I ordered the players not to give up many rebounds and to stop the fast break as much as possible. It didn’t go 안전놀이터 well in the beginning, but we need to reduce the number of easy baskets we give up in the future.”
“We knew it was going to be a tough game because they came out tough and found ways to stop (Lawson), and we were forced to be passive. We had a lot of turnovers at key moments. I want the players to realize the value of the ball and the importance of rebounding.”