[서울신문] Woori Bank becomes a legend by overcoming all-time competition and becoming the ’13th summit’

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▲ Players from Asan Woori Bank, a women’s professional basketball team, win the match against Busan BNK held at the BNK Center in Busan on the 21st, secured first place in the regular league, and are cheering with the winning trophy.
Busan Yonhap News

Asan Woori Bank laughed at the end of the competition for the first place in history, where the ranking was decided at the end of the season.

Woori Bank won 55-29 in the final game of the 2020-21 regular season against Busan BNK held at the BNK Center at Spowon Park in Busan on the 21st. Woori Bank, who was not able to celebrate the championship by being hit by Bucheon Hanawonkyu at home on the 18th, smiled brightly at the end of the campaign.

Woori Bank achieved 22 wins and 8 losses, and 2 consecutive losses in the regular league following last season. In addition, after the launch of the women’s professional basketball (WKBL) in 1998, he won the 13th regular season and also achieved a record of his 8th championship after the 2007~08 season, which switched from the summer and winter leagues to a single league. Woori Bank strengthened its position as the strongest team of all time by widening the gap with Yongin Samsung Life Insurance and Incheon Shinhan Bank, who have won the regular league six times in total.

As if showing the importance of the game, the two team owners, Kwon Hyeok-woon, the president of the Korean Basketball Association, and Lee Byeong-wan, the WKBL president, were all dispatched. However, the performance was disappointing to the point that both teams were the lowest score ever. In particular, the 29 points scored by BNK is the lowest score in a single team in history. The previous record is 34 points left by Incheon Shinhan Bank on December 27, 2018.

In this season, where there are no foreign players, there was a lot of prospect that Cheongju KB, where the national team center Park Ji-su endured, would be the absolute first. At the opening Media Day, coach Sang-woo said that the goal of the regular league was “third place”.

In fact, Woori Bank suffered a lot of injuries starting with Park Hye-jin’s plantar fasciitis at the beginning of the season and Kim Jong-un and Choi Eun-sil. In the meantime, KB ran a streak to win and win.

However, Woori Bank competed at the forefront with the growth of Sonia Kim and Ji-Hyun Park, unique vigorous activity and strong organizational power. On the other hand, KB could not overcome the severe limit of Park Ji-soo’s focus. It was painful to lose 4 out of 8 losses in the season to Woori Bank.

Manager Wi praised the players, saying, “It’s what the players did with their mental powers,” and “The sixth-men’s good support played a big part in winning.” Captain Park Hye-jin said, “The playoff system has changed, so even if I won, I could stop if I didn’t quit,” he said.

Woori Bank will enter the first game of playoffs at home with Samsung Life Insurance, which ranked fourth on the 27th. Woori Bank leads the season by 5-1. KB will start a playoff in Cheongju on the 28th with Shinhan Bank.

Reporter Ryu Jae-min [email protected]
Reporter Hong Ji-min [email protected]