'We have Kim Dan-bi' Woori Bank, MVP Kim Dan-bi, destroyed Shinhan Bank with 34 points
Oct 28, 2024
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Kim Dan-bi (34), the best star player in women's professional basketball, who won the MVP of the championship game last season, proved herself to be still the best star player and ace of the WKBL in the new season. Woori Bank, whose power has been greatly weakened due to the departure of a large number of key players, won its first game of the season thanks to Kim Dan-bi's brilliant performance.
Woori Bank won 76-64 against home team Incheon Shinhan Bank in the first game of the season of the 'Hana Bank 2024-2025 Women's Professional Basketball' held at Dowon Gymnasium in Incheon on the 28th. Ace Kim Dan-bi led the team to victory by scoring 34 points, including three 3-pointers. Lee Myung-kwan (14 points) and Han Um-ji (14 points) also contributed by scoring double digits.
On the other hand, Shinhan Bank, which signaled a sensation this season by recruiting the No. 1 player in the Asian quarter, Rika Tanimura, to the FA Big 3 (Shinseul Choi Yi-sam Jihyun Shin), failed to win the home opener as it collapsed in the second half due to frequent turnovers despite the dominance of the rebound. There was no player to play the role of a clear ace.
Woori Bank, the defending champion who won the championship match last season, all of its main players, including Park Hye-jin, Park Ji-hyun, Choi Yi-sam and Na Yoon-jung, left the team during the off-season. This is why it is evaluated that the power has weakened sharply. Only Kim Dan-bi is left. If other teams want to beat Woori Bank, they have no choice but to focus on the Kim Dan-bi mark.
The same was true of Shinhan Bank's manager Gunathan, who will face Woori Bank in the home opener. Coach Koo said, `Kim Dan-bi is a player who scores more than 20 points against any team. We're going to give only 20 points and stop it as well,' he said in a statement.
However, no matter how great the plan is, it is useless if it does not work. From the beginning of the game, he tried to stop Kim Dan-bi with all his might with his Jinyoung Kim, but to no avail. Kim Dan-bi scored seven points from the first quarter and stirred the court. In the first half, both teams played aggressively with fast speed.
There was no such thing as a quest. Shinhan Bank launched attacks around Jihyun Shin and Rika. Woori Bank utilized the post attack of Lee Myung-kwan and Kim Dan-bi by carrying the ball quickly from the front by Snagawa Natsuki and Shim Sung-young. Woori led 28-22. The second quarter was a close game. Shinhan Bank narrowed the gap with Rika's under-the-goal shot. In the first half, Woori Bank ended up leading 37-36.
The gap widened late in the third quarter. Kim Dan-bi showed the ace's potential. At 2:06 of the third quarter when trailing 37-43, Kim Dan-bi cut three points with a shot under the basket and an additional free throw. He then received Natsuki's pass and scored a three-run shot from the top to make it 43-43. At this moment, the flow swung toward Woori Bank.
Woori Bank didn't miss the opportunity. Choi Yi-sam allowed a two-point shot, but Kim Dan-bi scored two-point shots and three-point shots again following Lee Myung-kwan's three-point shot, making a 51-45 run with 4 minutes and 30 seconds left. This gap continued to the end. Kim Dan-bi turned the court upside down in the third quarter alone, scoring 15 points. Shinhan Bank fell into a swamp of fouls as it tried to stop it, and failed to find a clue to its chase in the fourth quarter.
wman@sportschosun.com
