KB Stars complete perfect postseason with Game 3 rout, sweep Samsung Life for third WKBL title

The Cheongju KB Stars captured their third WKBL championship on Sunday, demolishing the Yongin Samsung Life Blueminx 80-65 in Game 3 of the Hana Bank 2025-26 Championship Finals at Yongin Indoor Gymnasium to complete a dominant 3-0 series sweep.
The title is KB Stars' first "integrated championship" — winning both the regular season and the playoff title — in four years, matching the feat they last accomplished in 2021-22. Remarkably, all three championship titles in franchise history have come as integrated championships, underlining the team's pattern of sustained excellence across full seasons rather than playoff surges.
KB Stars were utterly dominant throughout the postseason, not dropping a single game. After finishing atop the regular-season standings for the sixth time in franchise history, they swept the Asan Woori Bank Woori WON in the playoff semifinals before carrying that momentum into a comprehensive finals demolition of Samsung Life.
The clincher in Yongin was a controlled performance from start to finish. KB Stars built their lead methodically and never allowed Samsung Life to mount the kind of rally that might have extended the series. The 80-65 final margin reflected the gulf between the two sides.
The series had effectively been decided in the first two games at Cheongju Gymnasium. KB Stars took Game 1 with a 69-56 victory despite the absence of national team center Park Ji-soo, as Yi-seul Kang (180-F-1989) erupted for 23 points to set the tone. Game 2 followed a similar script — another comfortable KB Stars win, 59-51, as their defense strangled Samsung Life's offense for the second consecutive game.
For Samsung Life, the finals defeat caps a season of highs and lows. Kang Yu-rim's 20-point performance in the semifinal clincher against Hana Bank had propelled them into the championship series with real momentum, but the Blueminx simply had no answer for KB Stars' defensive intensity and balanced attack across the three finals games.

Ye-Eun Heo (163-G-2001) was named the Finals MVP as she finished with 12 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds in the third game.