Coach Kim Sang-shik, who led KGC to 10 consecutive wins, looked back on 15 consecutive wins during his SBSB days.
Anyang KGC won 88-79 안전놀이터 in the 5th round of the 2022-2023 SKT Adot Professional Basketball Jeonju KCC held at Anyang Gymnasium on the 17th.
With this victory, KGC ran its first 10-game winning streak. If you include the days of the predecessor SBS, this is the second time. SBS ran 15 consecutive wins at the end of the 2004-2005 season. At the center of it all was Dante Jones. Jones, who joined as a substitute foreign player, led SBS’ 15-game winning streak by averaging 29.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 16 regular league games.
Coincidentally, the coach at the time is the current coach of KGC Kim Sang-shik. Coach Kim Sang-sik, who experienced 15 consecutive wins as a coach during SBS, became the command tower 18 years later and led KGC’s first 10 consecutive wins.
Before the match against KCC, coach Kim Sang-sik said, “The members were good at that time too. There were many good players such as Yang Hee-seung and Lee Jeong-seok. Jones in particular was overwhelming. He scored more than 30 points in every game, and grabbed rebounds steadily. I remember being a little tired during the playoffs as I poured everything in during the 15-game winning streak.
If Jones led the 15-game winning streak during SBS, the situation is a little different with KGC now. Bench members such as Darryl Monroe, Lens Abando, Yang Hee-jong, and Park Ji-hoon are solid in the starting lineup, which consists of Byun Jun-hyung, Bae Byung-jun, Moon Seong-gon, Oh Se-geun, and Omari Spellman. Everyone, not a one-man team, became a one-team team and tasted the joy of winning 10 consecutive victories.
“Compared to the SBS days, all players are actively moving and creating chances. No matter which player comes in, they do their part well enough. I move a lot rather than standing still, so I have a good chance. In addition, I think that we are on the rise by encouraging each other and raising the atmosphere.” These are the words of director Kim Sang-sik.
This season, KGC is expected to weaken as main shooter Jeon Seong-hyun moves to Goyang Carrot. However, the starting pitchers and sixth men, such as Bae Byung-jun, Abando, Park Ji-hoon, and Jung Jun-won, are playing their roles in their respective positions and creating a better synergy effect.
Manager Kim Sang-sik said, “With Jeon Seong-hyun’s departure before the season, I received a lot of questions about who to raise as a substitute. He thought that it was important to personally raise one person, but it would have a more positive effect if 20 points were divided by three people. These days, whenever Bae Byung-jun, Park Ji-hoon, and Jung Joon-won enter, they do their part. He expressed his opinion, “I wonder if it has more effect than that while perfectly filling the void of Jeon Seong-hyun.”