KCC, led by head coach Jeon Chang-jin, won 88-70 against Suwon kt in Game 5 of the 2023-2024 professional basketball championship match (four wins out of seven) held at KT Arena in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do on the 5th.
KCC, which ended the series with 4 wins and 1 loss, recaptured its hegemony for the first time in 13 years since the 2010-2011 season.
For Jeon Chang-jin, it was the first time in 16 years that he stood at the top of the league again after the 2007-2008 season.
Coach Jeon said in an interview after the game, “Thanks to those who worked hard, including Kang Yang-taek, Lee Sang-min, and Shin Myung-ho coaches and staff, good results came out,” adding, “The players were also ashamed of their performance in the fifth place in the regular league, so they were determined to play in the playoffs.”
KCC was called a “super team” this season by building a brilliant lineup including Heo Woong, Lee Seung-hyun, Ra Gun-ah, Choi Jun-yong and Song Kyo-chang, but it was sluggish in the regular league, and transformed into another team from the playoffs to win the championship match of the fifth-place team for the first time in history.
“It was a season when there were a lot of injured players, but all the players could gather only four to five days before the start of the playoffs,” coach Jeon said. “It is not easy for such a member to gather in one team, and if he had played the regular league as a member, he would not have finished fifth.”
“Even though there were injuries, when the media said ‘the super team lost’, I lost my energy, and I felt as if I wanted us to lose,” he said. “It became a process for the players to become solid, and the players worked harder in the playoffs to protect their pride.”
He also looked back on his past when he fell into the abyss due to allegations of match fixing and gambling after winning the top three times, 2002-2003, 2004-2005 and 2007-2008 seasons during the Wonju TG Sambo and the Eastern period.
Since then, Jeon, who returned to the KCC head coach in 2019 after being cleared of all legal charges, has achieved his fourth career championship title.
“As you know well, it wasn’t easy for me to coach again,” he said. “KCC called me, and I think I paid back even a little for the club that gave me the opportunity, but I’m still very fortunate.”
In particular, he expressed his gratitude to the late honorary chairman Chung Sang-young and said, “I want to visit you and say I did it.”
Born in 1963, Jeon became the first head coach in his 60s to win a professional basketball championship.
“In the digital age, I had a lot of thoughts about whether I could overcome the change of the times with analog supervision,” he said. “Coaches helped me well next to me, so I endured it.”
“The days of training as much as before and fighting with mental strength have passed,” coach Jeon said, adding, “The coach’s role is to pack well-made players and make them play well.”
Coach Jeon Chang-jin said, “I was very envious of professional teams when I saw them win the championship,” adding, “I’m feeling good now, but I can’t express it well, and it’s true that it’s a different feeling compared to the previous championship.”
He said, “It’s a pity that I couldn’t be with my home fans because I only finished fifth in the regular league,” adding, “The players were also encouraged by the support of many fans in the 3rd and 4th games.”
“I lost my suit top (during the victory ceremony),” the former coach, who came into the press conference room, said after the interview, “I’m going to go smoke.”
BY: 바카라사이트