'I blew my breath. KT survived' KT's first win of the season after defeating Samsung
Oct 20, 2024
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Suwon KT won 72-63 with the performances of Huh Hoon and Moon Jung-hyun in the home game against Seoul Samsung in the '2024-2025 KCC Professional Basketball' held at Suwon KT Sonic Boom Arena on the 20th.
As a result, KT quickly escaped from the shock of losing the championship match against Busan KCC the previous day, and Samsung lost its opening two consecutive games.
It was a meeting between the two teams with high fatigue. KT suffered an unexpected defeat in the official opening match against defending champion KCC the previous day. KCC's two ace Choi Joon-yong and Song Kyo-chang were out due to injury, and only Dionte Burton was used as a foreign player. Nevertheless, KT was beaten without targeting its opponent's weaknesses. In the process, sign center Ha Yoon-ki decided to undergo a thorough examination on the 21st due to an injury to his left neck.
Two weeks ago, KT was caught off guard without a chance to save the afterglow of a complete victory over KCC in the KBL Cup, and lost its core power and went a long way, so it was KT that had too much to lose.
Samsung was a little different. Physical fatigue cannot be ignored because it is a series of away games since the opening following Wonju on the previous day, but confidence has been charged. They lost 83-88 against Wonju DB, the regular league winner last season and a strong favorite this season. It was an encouraging performance considering that guard resources Lee Dae-sung and Choi Sung-mo were injured. Samsung has changed from previous years, as if it wants to show that it is no longer the last team in the 10,000 years. If they lose on this day, they had no choice but to go straight toward their first win of the season, as the two teams fell to their first consecutive losses of the season and to the bottom of the short but unpleasant level.
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There was a person who sprayed the fire extinguisher properly here, so it was KT's ace Heo Hoon. Two minutes and one second before the end of the second quarter, Heo Hoon, who hit his first three-point score on the day, immediately induced the home crowd to be enthusiastic with a bank shot following a solo breakthrough. Samsung's Park Seung-jae then ran and intercepted what he was dribbling to start the attack, and made a layup following a solo breakthrough to 35-24 to create a lead of more than 10 points on the day.
Until the match against KCC the previous day, Heo Hoon, who had his pride crumpled a bit. He has been bandaging since the KBL Cup tournament due to a right wrist injury, and struggled against the opponent's strong forward pressure in the match against KCC. Instead of being pushed to the bench by KT coach Song Young-jin, who judged that his wrist was in poor condition at the end of the fourth quarter, shooter Choi Jin-kwang had to play the role of a troubleshooter. In the end, when it ended in defeat, head coach Song said "It was my fault to exclude Heo Hoon", and on the same day, Samsung replaced Choi Chang-jin and Moon Sung-gon to manage Heo Hoon's injury, increasing Heo Hoon's utilization. Then Heo Hoon responded properly.
Heo Hoon also completed a clutch performance that he could not do the previous day. He lifted a layup with flashy individual skills that poured cold water on the opponent's will to chase when necessary in the early and mid-quarter of the fourth quarter. KT, leading 64-47 with 5:54 left before the end of the game, later gave Huh Hoon a good rest and won. Along with 17 points, Huh Hoon also delivered seven assists, the most for both teams.
When Heo Hoon shook it, Moon Jung-hyun also opened the way. Moon Jung-hyun added 16 points and 3 rebounds, including two 3-pointers he hit at every corner.
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