'It's revenge for the championship game!' Suwon KT's new foreign Hammons double-double performance, defeating KCC by 10 points in the first round of the cup competition
Oct 06, 2024
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KT won 84-74 in the first round of Group B of the '2024 DB Insurance KBL CUP IN Jecheon' competition held at Jecheon Gymnasium on the 6th against Busan KCC, who won the KBL Cup and the championship game last season. KT's teamwork with domestic players, new foreign players Raysion Hammonds, and Jeremiah Tillman was ideal.
In particular, Hammonds, who first appeared on the KBL stage this season, played the role of a troubleshooter that Paris Bath played until last season, showing good performance with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and five 3-point shots. Of course, it wasn't like Bath's style. However, the game proved that Hammonds' scoring ability based on accurate field throws can certainly be KT's powerful weapon in the regular season. Tillman was also fairly stable across offense and defense. Tillman had 10 points and seven rebounds.
KCC, on the other hand, did not show the prowess of the defending champion at all. Not only domestic players but also foreign players were still not fully built. Dionte Burton, who was hired as an option one, has become slimmer and has made a seasoned move compared to his past days at Wonju DB. He scored 23 points, 13 rebounds, and five 3-pointers on the day. However, there was still a lack of harmony with KCC's main domestic players such as Heo Woong, Choi Jun-yong, and Lee Seung-hyun.
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KT led the flow from the beginning of the game. Shortly after the first quarter, two consecutive points by Huh Hoon and Moon Sung-gon were scored, followed by Hammons' 3-point shot and Ha Yoon-ki's free throw to make it 8-0. KCC was floundering in the beginning. Burton committed two turnovers, and the shot was not accurate. KCC scored the first point with Hur Woong's 3-pointer at 2:10 of the quarter.
Since then, Lee Seung-hyun and Heo Woong have been following up to 10-12 with their name values inside and outside. However, KT Hammons' three-run shot and Ha Yoon-ki's two home runs widened the gap to 17-10 again. Since then, Tillman, Huh Hoon, Ha Yoon-ki and Moon Sung-gon have accumulated points with quick attacks to finish the first quarter 25-14.
In the second quarter, both teams utilized the Sixmen. KT Lee Yoon-ki and KCC Kim Dong-hyun played a three-point match at the beginning of the quarter. However, since the middle of the quarter, KT Moon Sung-gon and Tillman have widened the gap by targeting KCC inside. In the end, KT finished with a big lead of 52-30 in the first half.
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There was a spark at last in the fourth quarter. KCC, which was trailing 62-74, chased Heo Woong and Burton with consecutive points and Burton's three-point shot to 69-74 with 5:19 left. He then chased Heo Woong's layup fastball to 71-74. 4 minutes and 30 seconds left. KCC seemed to be riding the flow.
However, following KT Huh Hoon's field pitch, Han Hee-won's 3-point shot exploded after Choi Joon-yong's layup failure, widening the gap again. Burton followed with another 3-pointer with 2 1/2 minutes left to 74-79, but there was no more energy left to chase. KT Hammons scored a three-run shot with 16 seconds left to seal the milestone.
wman@sportschosun.com
