Head Coach Kim Sang-sik: “The players came together as one”

“I would like to see multiple players perform well, not relying on one or two players like last year,” says coach Kim Sang-sik.

Anyang won the regular season and the championship last season, but the team had to build a new lineup after the end of the season when their mainstays, Oh Se-geun and Moon Sung-gon, joined 온라인카지노 Seoul SK and Suwon KT, respectively. The retirement of Yang Hee-jong, the team’s captain, and the military enlistment of Byun Joon-hyung, the main guard, virtually changed the entire roster.

Coach Kim Sang-sik said, “The cup is an official game. (So) we have to do well, but I was worried because all the members changed,” he said.

In their first official game, the team won 91-84 against the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis in the Group D preliminary round of the 2023 MG Saemaul KBL Cup at Wolmyeong Gymnasium in Gunsan on the 9th.

There were as many transfers as there were departures. In addition to re-signing Bae Byeong-jun, Chung signed Choi Sung-won, Jung Hyo-geun, and Lee Jong-hyun as free agents. It was the best option to bolster the squad, but most of the players, except for Choi Sung-won, are not in top form due to injuries. Jung Hyo-geun plans to sit out the cup tournament altogether.

Coach Kim Sang-sik said, “(Jung) Hyo-geun is doing all the running and training. He wanted to join us, but we decided it was more important for him to be treated, so we didn’t bring him (to the Cup). (Lee) Jong-hyun was also resting after suffering a slight injury in the last practice match against Wonju DB.”

Despite the first win in the Cup, Kim Sang-sik said, “I tried to give (Lee) Woo-jung a chance, but the score wasn’t close enough, so it’s a shame I couldn’t use him. I couldn’t change it because the players wanted to win so badly, so I think that’s why the guards played a lot,” he said, expressing regret for the change from the original plan.

“I think the panic and mistakes in the game are due to the inexperience of the younger players, but we will work on it,” he added.