KBL Round 39 (Regular Season): Wonju DB defeat Seoul Knights

The games at this stage are more interesting as they can be crucial for the final standings in Regular Season. Despite we already know who is stronger and who is weaker, there may be still last minute surprises and upsets. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most surprising game was a loss of top-ranked Knights (36-9) in Seoul on Friday night. Hosts were defeated by sixth ranked Wonju DB (20-25) 88-80. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Knights. Wonju DB outrebounded Seoul Knights 48-31 including a 17-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Wonju DB made 7 blocks. It was a good game for guard Sung-Won Choi (180-1995) who led his team to a victory with 27 points and 5 rebounds. American guard Ethan Alvano (185-1996, college: CSUSM) contributed with 23 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. American center Jameel Warney (203-1994, college: Stony Brook) answered with a double-double by scoring 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for Seoul Knights. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Defending champion maintains sixth place with 20-25 record. Seoul Knights at the other side still keep top position with nine games lost. Wonju DB will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Seoul Knights will play again on the road against Wonju DB and are hoping to win this game.
Important game to mention about took place in Changwon. Third ranked Sakers (28-16) saved a 3-point victory at home edging second-best Mobis Phoebus (27-17) 84-81 in the game for the second place. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Mobis Phoebus. It was a key game for the second position in the league. It was a great evening for Egyptian center Assem Marei (206-1992, college: MSU) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Carl Tamayo helped adding 17 points and 8 rebounds. The best for the losing side was American forward Shawn Long (208-1993, college: Louisiana, agency: Pensack Sports) with a double-double by scoring 14 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Sakers have a solid series of three victories in a row. LG Sakers moved-up to second place. Mobis Phoebus at the other side dropped to the third position with 17 games lost. LG Sakers will play against Suwon KT (#4) in Busan in the next round. Mobis Phoebus will play at home against KCC Egis and hope to get back on the winning track.
Bottom-ranked Samsung Thunders managed to get a fourteenth victory on Thursday night. This time they won against eighth-ranked Egis in Jeonju 83-77. It was an exceptional evening for Kofi Cockburn who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 34 points (!!!) and 13 rebounds (went 8 for 8 at the free throw line). Cady Lalanne came up with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 12 rebounds for KCC Egis in the defeat. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Seoul Thunders (14-30) moved-up to ninth place, which they share with Sono SG. KCC Egis lost eleventh consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 28 games lost. Seoul Thunders will meet at home higher ranked Suwon KT (#4) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. KCC Egis will play against Mobis Phoebus (#3) in Ulsan and hope to secure a win.

In the last two games of round 39 Anyang was beaten by KoGas on the road 88-76. Suwon KT won against Sono SG on its own court 69-63.



KoGas - Anyang 88-76

No shocking result in a game when fifth ranked KoGas (23-21) beat 7th ranked Anyang (17-27) in Inchon 88-76 on Wednesday. It was an exceptional evening for Canadian Andrew Nicholson (206-1989, college: St.Bonaventure) who led the winners and scored 31 points and 6 rebounds. Filipino guard Samjosef Belangel (177-1999) accounted for 18 points for the winning side. American swingman Deonte Burton (193-1994, college: Iowa St.) came up with a double-double by scoring 31 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists and the former international point guard Jihoon Park (184-1995) added 12 points respectively for Anyang in the defeat. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. KoGas maintains fifth place with 23-21 record. Loser Anyang keeps the seventh position with 27 games lost. KoGas will meet at home KCC Egis (#8) in the next round. Anyang will play against Sono SG in Daegu and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
KoGas: A.Nicholson 31+6reb, S.Belangel 18+2reb+3ast, Y.Ndoye 13+7reb, J.Kim 8+4reb+2ast, N.Kim 6+1ast, S.Jeong 6+3reb+8ast
Anyang: D.Burton 31+12reb+5ast, J.Park 12+3reb+2ast, S.Han 7+2reb+1ast, J.Kim 6+2reb+2ast, K.Kim 6, J.Byeon 5+2reb+3ast

KCC Egis - Seoul Thunders 77-83

Bottom-ranked Samsung Thunders managed to get a fourteenth victory on Thursday night. This time they won against eighth-ranked Egis in Jeonju 83-77. Seoul Thunders looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. It was an exceptional evening for Jamaican center Kofi Cockburn (213-1999, college: Illinois) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 34 points (!!!) and 13 rebounds (went 8 for 8 at the free throw line). Naturalized American guard Justin Gutang (191-1997, college: Skyline JC) accounted for 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side. Haitian center Cady Lalanne (208-1992, college: UMass) came up with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 12 rebounds and American power forward Donovan Smith (207-1993, college: Quinnipiac) added 16 points respectively for KCC Egis in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Seoul Thunders (14-30) moved-up to ninth place, which they share with Sono SG. KCC Egis lost eleventh consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 28 games lost. Seoul Thunders will meet at home higher ranked Suwon KT (#4) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. KCC Egis will play against Mobis Phoebus (#3) in Ulsan and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Seoul Thunders: K.Cockburn 34+13reb+2ast, J.Gutang 14+7reb+5ast, S.Choi 11+8reb+7ast, J.Lee 10+7reb+8ast, H.Choi 5+5reb+3ast, W.Tae-lee 3+1ast
KCC Egis: C.Lalanne 17+12reb, D.Smith 16+3reb+1ast, U.Heo 14+3ast, S.Lee 12+3reb+3ast, C.Jung 8+2reb+3ast, G.Lee 6+4reb+2ast

Suwon KT - Sono SG 69-63

Very expected game when 9th ranked Skygunners (14-30) lost to fourth ranked Sonicboom (26-17) in Busan 63-69 on Thursday. However just six-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. Suwon KT outrebounded Sono SG 47-32 including a 22-10 advantage in offensive rebounds. It was an exceptional evening for American center Rayshaun Hammonds (206-1998, college: Georgia) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 14 rebounds. The former international forward Jeonghyeon Moon (195-2001) accounted for 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side. Four Sonicboom players scored in double figures. The former international point guard Jae-Do Lee (180-1991) came up with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and Filipino Kevin Quiambao (193-2001) added 12 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Sono SG in the defeat. Skygunners' coach rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Sonicboom have an impressive series of five victories in a row. Suwon KT maintains fourth place with 26-17 record. Sono SG lost fourth consecutive game. They dropped to the bottom. They share the position with Seoul Thunders. Suwon KT will meet at home league's second-placed LG Sakers in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Sono SG will play against Anyang (#7) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Suwon KT: R.Hammonds 17+14reb+3ast, H.Heo 13+5reb+7ast, J.Moon 11+13reb+4ast, S.Park 10+3reb+2ast, Y.Ha 8+8reb+1ast, S.Moon 7+1reb+1ast
Sono SG: J.Lee 27+5reb+5ast, K.Quiambao 12+9reb+2ast, D.Burns Jr. 10+3reb+2ast, S.Choi 5+2reb+2ast, J.Lee 5+4reb, J.Lee 4+3reb+1ast

LG Sakers - Mobis Phoebus 84-81

Important game to mention about took place in Changwon. Third ranked Sakers (28-16) saved a 3-point victory at home edging second-best Mobis Phoebus (27-17) 84-81 in the game for the second place. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Mobis Phoebus. It was a key game for the second position in the league. LG Sakers players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. It was a great evening for Egyptian center Assem Marei (206-1992, college: MSU) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Filipino forward Carl Tamayo (200-2001) helped adding 17 points and 8 rebounds. The best for the losing side was American forward Shawn Long (208-1993, college: Louisiana, agency: Pensack Sports) with a double-double by scoring 14 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists and international forward Woosuk Lee (196-1999) scored 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Mobis Phoebus players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Sakers have a solid series of three victories in a row. LG Sakers moved-up to second place. Mobis Phoebus at the other side dropped to the third position with 17 games lost. LG Sakers will play against Suwon KT (#4) in Busan in the next round. Mobis Phoebus will play at home against KCC Egis and hope to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
LG Sakers: A.Marei 24+12reb+4ast, C.Tamayo 17+8reb+3ast, I.Jeong 10+4reb+1ast, S.Yugi 10+3reb+1ast, K.Doo 8+4reb+4ast, J.Yang 7+4reb+6ast
Mobis Phoebus: W.Lee 18+5reb+4ast, S.Long 14+13reb+4ast, J.Ham 11+3ast, G.Prim 10+5reb+2ast, H.Han 8+4reb+3ast, D.Lee 8+3reb+1ast

Seoul Knights - Wonju DB 80-88

The most surprising game was a loss of top-ranked Knights (36-9) in Seoul on Friday night. Hosts were defeated by sixth ranked Wonju DB (20-25) 88-80. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Knights. Wonju DB outrebounded Seoul Knights 48-31 including a 17-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Wonju DB made 7 blocks. It was a good game for guard Sung-Won Choi (180-1995) who led his team to a victory with 27 points and 5 rebounds. American guard Ethan Alvano (185-1996, college: CSUSM) contributed with 23 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Alvano is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. American center Jameel Warney (203-1994, college: Stony Brook) answered with a double-double by scoring 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists and the former international forward Youngjun An (195-1995) added 13 points in the effort for Seoul Knights. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Defending champion maintains sixth place with 20-25 record. Seoul Knights at the other side still keep top position with nine games lost. Wonju DB will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Seoul Knights will play again on the road against Wonju DB and are hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Wonju DB: S.Choi 27+5reb+2ast, E.Alvano 23+5reb+3ast, O.Spellman 15+6reb+4ast, S.Kim 14, B.Kim 4+7reb+2ast, C.Onuaku 3+1reb
Seoul Knights: J.Warney 23+10reb+4ast, J.Oh 13+4reb+2ast, Y.An 13+4reb+2ast, H.Kim 10+3reb+5ast, H.Kim 6+1ast, S.Oh 4+2reb