KCC’s Three-pointers Finish Off TG

It was a battle for pride on the court between first and second place teams, and a battle of nerves off the court for a trade.

KCC was victorious in the hot confrontation between KCC and TG Sambo, which has been called a preview of the Championship Series.

The second place team, KCC, defeated the leader, TG Sambo, by a score of 85-70 in the 2003~2004 Anycall pro basketball regular season game held at Wonju Chiak gymnasium on January 18, reducing the game difference between the two teams to only two.

KCC had a tough time in the beginning with the absence of Hoff, but won a complete victory behind three point bombs from Charles Minlend (29 points) who broke the 1,000-point mark for the season, Cho Seong-won (19 points), Lee Sang-min (7 points and 6 assists) and Jeong Jae-geun (8 points).

TG took a seemingly safe lead of 42-33 into the second quarter, but KCC closed the gap to 55-56 after TG allowed 6 consecutive points by KCC’s sixth man, Choi Min-kyu (9 points) in the middle of the third quarter. KCC then took the lead with 62-61 on a 3 pointer from veteran Jeong Jae-geun with five minutes left in the game.

KCC seized the chance to win when Lee Sang-min sank a three point shot with two minutes left on the clock to take the score to 74-69, and when Minlend scored on a fast break to increase the lead to 79-69.

Minlend scored 29 points on the day and has recorded 1,012 points this season.

The two teams have also been fighting over trading issues. KCC decided to trade Hoff for Mobis’s Basset and received approval from the Korean Basketball League (KBL) for the trade.

KCC wants Basset, who is physically strong and a solid low-post player, to help KCC compete against TG in either the playoffs or the Championship Series.

TG Coach Jeon Chang-jin was sensitive and appeared to bristle whether the trade would be approved or not.. “Can we take Samsung’s Seo Jang-hoon right before Championship Series then?” said a spokesperson for TG with some irritation. “KCC tries to make excessive trades that agitate the competition.”

Meanwhile, SBS beat LG at Anyang by a score of 91-84 thanks to 35 points from Calkamo.

Won-Hong Lee Jong-Seok Kim bluesky@donga.com kjs0123@donga.com