Professional basketball’s Wonju DB has won three straight games despite losing two starters to injury and suspension.
DB defeated Anyang Jungkwanjang 88-83 in the 2023-2024 Jungkwanjang Professional Basketball League on Tuesday at Wonju General Gymnasium, despite being at a disadvantage as Kim Jong-kyu was injured and Kang Sang-jae left the court with two technical fouls.
Dedrick Lawson was unchanged with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Lee Sun Albano (15 points) also scored in key spurts to help secure the win.
With their third straight win, DB improved to 17-3.
DB snapped an 11-game losing streak on paper when the teams met on March 26, and now leads the season series 2-1.
DB dominated the overall rebounding and field goal percentage.
DB won the overall rebounding battle 25-13 and shot 67% from two-point range and 45% from three-point range. Jung Kwan-jang, on the other hand, shot 46% from two-point range and 29% from three-point range.
With Lawson, Kim Jong-kyu (10 points), and Albano already scoring over 10 points in the first half, DB entered the second half with a 52-37 lead.
DB, which was cruising to victory, faltered in the third quarter. With 8:35 left in the quarter, main post player Kim Jong-kyu injured his right ankle while blocking a pass from Jung Kwan-jang’s Park Ji-hoon and was stretchered off the court.
After the loss of Kim Jong-kyu, who grabbed five rebounds in the first half, Kwanjang stopped DB’s perimeter offense and ended the third quarter with a nine-point lead, 65-74, behind the long-range shooting of Landes Abando (8 points) and Park Ji-hoon (11 points).
Abando had three blocked shots in the third quarter alone, thanks to his fearsome leaping ability.
DB lost its best player in the fourth quarter when Kang Sang-jae (12 points) picked up his second technical foul for protesting a call.
After Kang Sang-jae went to the bench, Jung Kwan-jang pulled within 74-76 on a layup by Abando with 5:17 left in regulation.
Protecting the precarious lead, DB made it 84-80 with a celestial dunk with 1:27 left in the game.
Jung Kwan-jang called the final shot clock and tried to pull off the upset, but Daryl Monroe (16 points) committed a turnover and DB Lawson made a layup on the ensuing offense to seal the game.
Daegu KOGAS recorded its first back-to-back wins of the season against Goyang.
KOGAS was led by Kim Nak-hyun (18 points) and Cha Bawi (14 points) to defeat Goyang Sono 84-76 at Goyang Gymnasium.
Duvan McDowell, who joined KOGAS as a substitute foreign player during the season, scored 13 points, including seven in the third quarter, to help the team pull off the upset.
KOGAS, which had defeated Sono two days earlier, won again in the return match at the same venue to improve to 4-0 on the season with its second straight win. KOGAS won their third meeting of the season against Sono, improving their record to 2-1.
SONO was in a three-game slump after losing back-to-back games at home in Goyang, and they were also dealing with a shoulder injury to star guard Lee Jung-hyun.
After falling behind 0-7 early in the first quarter, Sono overcame the deficit thanks to the combination play of Chinanu Onuaku (15 points) and Lee Jung-hyun (15 points) and back-to-back baskets by Jeon Sung-hyun.
In the second quarter, Han Ho-bin added to the scoring with three three-pointers, giving SONO a 41-36 lead heading into halftime.
SONO brought Onuaku to the bench to rest him in the third quarter.
In the meantime, KOGAS used two 3-pointers from Samjosef Belangel (10 points) and a Maxwell steal and 3-pointer to close out the third quarter with a 58-55 lead.
Sono suffered a setback less than two minutes into the fourth quarter when Lee Jung-hyun fell and injured his right shoulder. Lee went to the bench and did not return to the court until the end of the game.
The rejuvenated KOGAS extended its lead to seven points with back-to-back baskets from Cha Bawi and Kim Nak-hyun.
SONO cut the deficit to 72-76 with five consecutive points from Kim Kang-sun, but KOGAS would not allow the visitors to get any closer until Chabawi drained a three-pointer with 1:45 left in the game.
Chabawi hit another three-pointer with 1:23 left in regulation to make it 82-74 and seal the win for KOGAS. 사설토토