BNK's clear light and shadow. Japan's strongest Fujitsu 70/82 division.

Sep 07, 2024

 BNK's clear light and shadow. Japan's strongest Fujitsu 7082 division.
BNK 이소희. Photo courtesy =WKBL



Busan BNK was completely defeated by Japan's strongest Fujitsu. Fujitsu and Toyota will face off in the Park Shin-ja Cup final.

BNK lost 70 to 82 to Japanese women's professional basketball defending champion Fujitsu in the semifinals of the 2024 Woori Bank Park Shin-ja Cup at Yi Sun-shin Gymnasium in Asan on the 7th.

For Fujitsu, Miyazawa (16 points), Joshua (16 points, 9 rebounds), Hayashi (15 points) and Akaki (12 points) showed even scores, while Matsuda Rui coordinated the game with as many as 14 assists.



For BNK, Sonia (21 points, 10 rebounds), Lee So-hee (11 points) and Ahn Hye-ji (11 points) worked hard.

The Park Shin-ja Cup, which was transformed into an international competition last year, was won by Toyota and Woori Bank in the final. This year, six domestic clubs failed to advance to the final. Only two strong Japanese teams survived. The prize money is 30 million won.



 BNK's clear light and shadow. Japan's strongest Fujitsu 7082 division.
후지쯔 선수들. Photo courtesy =WKBL
 BNK's clear light and shadow. Japan's strongest Fujitsu 7082 division.
Fujitsu Center Joshua. Photo courtesy =WKBL
▶ First half

BNK coach Park Jung-eun said, `When you look at Joshua, the Fujitsu center, there is no answer.'



That's how powerful he is. Joshua, the main center of Fujitsu at 1m90, is a big man who doubles as an airlift. Strong hedging and recovery in a 2-2 defense is excellent. He also has excellent speed.

It shows textbook movements that all Korean big men should follow. He has the highest level of control under the basket.

Fujitsu also has key Japanese national team guard Louis Machida, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Fujitsu took the lead in the first quarter. Joshua blocked Park Sung-jin's shot and scored lightly with a fastball.

However, BNK was not easy. Lee So-hee made a 1-1 breakthrough against Matsuda, and Ahn Hye-ji scored two free throws. 7-9, BNK was two points behind, and the initial pace was found.

However, Fujitsu, who topped the Japanese women's professional basketball league last season, was really tough. 3 points for the tall forward Miyazawa at 1m83.

When Kim Jong-un responded with a three-point shot, Miyazawa's three consecutive three-point shots immediately broke out.

The problem is that Fujitsu came up with a proper way to attack the weaknesses of the BNK small lineup. Miyazawa and Miyashita (1m78) target the mismatched mid-range area. If the double team sticks or the switch defense sticks, it connects to Hayashi in the corner. A three-point burst. BNK has Park Sung-jin, but there is a problem with the outer defense, and Ahn Hye-ji, Lee So-hee, Lee Ijima Saki, Kim Jong-un, and Shim Soo-hyun are all in poor height. In the end, the gap widened to 20-10, 10 points.

Fortunately, Fujitsu's flagship guard Matsuda is not very good at shooting this tournament. BNK chased after Matsuda with Sonia's score when he flew an air ball. Ahn Hye-ji's sharp pass chased Park Sung-jin's mid jumper.

20-17. Although Park Hye-jin did not participate in this competition, BNK showed strong team speed as Lee So-hee, Saki, Shim Soo-hyun, and Kim Jong-un faithfully trained in the offseason.

At the end of the first quarter, BNK stole with a powerful full-court press. Ahn Hye-ji added two free throws due to the opponent's foul. The first quarter ended with a three-point lead by Fujitsu at 23-20, but BNK's pressure was quite daunting.

Joshua is back on the court in the second quarter. Fujitsu had an intention. The ostensible reason to run Joshua options under the basket. However, it was to call out match-up opponent Park Sung-jin to break BNK's strong press. That way, it was intended to make the press of BNK short guard jeans loose.

However, it was a jackpot. Park Sung-jin blocked the pass to Joshua, and rather increased the concentration of BNK's defense. In the end, it was tied at 25-25.

After the jab step, Sonia has three points. 28-27, successfully turned the tables. However, Fujitsu was not embarrassed. After turning the pass to the outside, confusing the BNK rotation defense, Akaki scored a cool three-point goal in the corner. a turnaround.

BNK's Operation Time. Sonia scored another three-run shot in the center. Then, Fujitsu had Akagi's three points again this time. Then, Lee So-hee pierced under the basket for BNK.

Fujitsu's mistake. Then, Lee So-hee hit a three-run shot in the left-center. 36-33, BNK's lead by three points.

At this time, the power of Matsuda Louis came out. Joshua and Pick and Roll. Joshua finally made it under the basket.

Sonia's attacker, foul. Fujitsu used Joshua as a screener as his under-the-goal attack efficiency declined. Hayashi, who received an off-the-ball screen, hits a 3-pointer from the corner. 38-36, leads by 2 points.

However, when Sonia entered the bench at the end of the second quarter, there was no card to penetrate the attack. Fujitsu took the perfect lead with two 3-pointers and a back-to-back fastball from tall forward Miyazawa. The first half ended with 40-50, BNK trailing by 10 points.

BNK fought well in the first half. However, Fujitsu was too strong. His three-point shooting condition was at its peak on the day. It had a 3-point shooting field goal rate of 63% (16 cities and 10 successful).

 BNK's clear light and shadow. Japan's strongest Fujitsu 7082 division.
사진제공=WKBL
 BNK's clear light and shadow. Japan's strongest Fujitsu 7082 division.
사진제공=WKBL
▶ Second half

In the beginning of BNK, Park Sung-jin succeeded in a 2-2 attack in front of Joshua. Then, right away, revenge, Matsuda Rui and Joshua added two points, two to two. Hayashi's three-point game went off.

On the other hand, for BNK, Lee So-hee's 3-point shot failed. In the end, the gap widened to 57-42, 15 points.

Sonia's attack miss. Then, Matsuda swings in quick attack, and extra pass. It was connected to Miyazawa's three-point shot. After receiving the screen, Matsuda leisurely succeeded in a drive-in that penetrated BNK's weakness under the basket.

Fujitsu's lead by 20 points.

At this time, BNK chased up to 12 points as Shim Soo-hyun, who grew rapidly this season, scored a three-point backboard shot and Kim Sonia scored a three-point shot. However, in the BNK upward trend, Joshua blocked the flow with a shot under the basket.

Definitely Fujitsu is strong. Joshua and Matsuda's inner and outer sides. And there are wingman resources centered on Miyazawa, who has strong internal and external attacks. On top of that, he used a very high probability attack in the good flow of BNK or a high probability attack with a promised play.

It was a performance like a Japanese champion.

Between 15 and 18 points, the third quarter ended with Fujitsu's lead of 70-55, 15 points.

BNK's attack in the fourth quarter was sharp. Ahn Hye-ji's under-the-goal breakthrough and Sonia's three-run shot by the promised pattern. 72-62, chasing by 10 points. Then, Hayashi added two points with a floater by a baseline cut-in, adding cold water to BNK's rise again.

However, this was the limit. BNK couldn't find any countermeasures against Fujitsu's tall forwards' mismatch attack.

BNK, which has been reinforced by Sonia Park Hye-jin this season, is considered a favorite as Saki Ijima's strong defense in the Asian quarter has been added.

His performance on the day was quite impressive. Big men Park Sung-jin and Shim Soo-hyun and Kim Min-ah, as well as Kim So-hee, have grown a lot. Coach Wi Sung-woo of Woori Bank said after watching the BNK game "Young players' movements are quite good." He also said, "I think I've done quite a lot of training."

Park Hye-jin's absence on this day was regrettable. Park Hye-jin was absent from the tournament due to uncertain reasons such as conditioning.

BNK looked quite strong in the first half. However, Sonia entered the bench to control her physical strength, and attacks centered on Ahn Hye-ji were blocked by Fujitsu's strong pressure, allowing a series of quick attacks.

In the end, the score gap widened at the end of the second quarter in a tight race, which eventually contributed to BNK's complete defeat.



sfryu@sportschosun.com