First round? Two rivers?This year, everyone is the favorite
First round? Two rivers?This year, everyone is the favorite
Blog Article
The Women's Professional Basketball (WKBL) in the 2024-2025 season, which is just around the corner, is expected to be a fiercer competition than ever.
The WKBL held a media day for the opening of Hana Bank's women's professional basketball league in the 2024-2025 season at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul on Sunday. At the event, which was attended by six coaches and two representative players from each of the six teams, Yongin Samsung Life Insurance drew attention as it was designated as the favorite.
Four of the coaches of the six clubs analyzed that Samsung Life had a high chance of winning, and 25 (24.3%) players, the most, expected Samsung Life to win.
After finishing the regular season league in third place, Samsung Life Insurance failed to overcome the barrier between Asan Woori Bank and Cheongju KB, which had been the WKBL leaders for the past 10 years in the playoff. Samsung Life Insurance also failed to pass the group league as it recorded two wins and two losses even at the Park Shin-ja Cup, which was a prelude to the opening game. Coach Ha Sang-yoon, who took the helm this year for the first time, also looked puzzled at the fact that he was nominated as a potential winner. "My goal is to win the championship. I've heard a lot from outside that our players are gentle, and if they show strong determination in defense and rebound, I'll get better results," Ha said.
"We need to open the lid," said Incheon Shinhan Bank coach Gunathan, but added, "I think Samsung Life Insurance is the best." "Samsung Life Insurance will play the most stable regular league," said Kim Do-wan, manager of Bucheon Hana Bank.
Samsung Life Insurance has emerged as a favorite because of the disappearance of the core power of the two absolutely strong teams. Woori Bank, the winner of last season's championship match, has Park Ji-hyun, a key player, taking on a new challenge in New Zealand. In KB, the champion of the regular league, Park Ji-soo left for Turkiye.
In addition, while each team's performance was not perfect as 16 players, the most ever in the offseason, changed to new uniforms, Samsung Life Insurance was evaluated as advantageous in that the team's change was relatively small.
Samsung Life forward Kang Yoo-rim laughed, saying, "We didn't have much change in players. I think we saw teamwork as a strength because we've been working together for a while." 안전놀이터
On the other hand, some said that the fact that Samsung Life Insurance has been nominated as a candidate for the championship is an environment where everyone can challenge for the championship. In other words, if players who have changed their uniforms to free agent players are completely acclimated, the balance of players' power may be lost.
Coach Ha Sang-yoon also said, "I think BNK can win the title. Not only recruiting veteran players such as Park Hye-jin and Kim Sonia, but also the backup power that was lacking due to the growth of young players has solidified."
Shinhan Bank, which has not won the championship for a long time, has also strengthened its strength by joining key players Shin I-seul, Choi Yi-sam, and Shin Ji-hyun, as well as former Japanese national team Rika Tanimura through the Asian quarter. Hana Bank's under-the-go capability has also become stronger thanks to the addition of national team center Jinan. "It is difficult to select a candidate. We need to see if they show good performance without injury in the early days of the season. It was a good motivation for our team to be undervalued," said Hana Bank coach Kim Wan-soo, who did not mention Samsung Life Insurance as a candidate.
WKBL will enter a five-month long battle starting with the opening match between Bucheon Hana Bank and Cheongju KB at Bucheon Gymnasium on the 27th.