30 points and 12 rebounds against Samsung Life Insurance on the 4th, Woori Bank won 73-65
Woori Bank beat Samsung Life Insurance at home to soothe the disappointment of losing the BNK match.
Woori Bank Woori WON, led by head coach Wi Sung-woo, won 73-65 at home against Samsung Life Bloomings in the first round of Hana Bank's 2024-2025 Women's Professional Basketball at Yi Sun-shin Gymnasium in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do on the 4th. Woori Bank, which had a shaky start with a 5-18 lead in the early part of the game, began its pursuit in the second half of the first quarter, succeeded in turning the tables in the third quarter, and tied for third with Hana Bank (2-1 losses) by keeping the lead until the end of the game.
Woori Bank's Han Um-ji kept under the basket with five points and nine rebounds, while Sugina and Natsuki also played well with nine points and two assists and two steals. Woori Bank's dependence on ace players has grown this season as a large number of key players have left, and fortunately, Lee is very familiar with the role of ace. Kim Dan-bi, who has scored 30 points in three consecutive games since the opening, including 30 points, 12 rebounds and two assists and three steals and two blocks against Samsung Life Insurance, is the main character.
Park Ji-soo's Season, Players Targeting No. 1
Until last season, the queen of the WKBL was Park Ji-soo (Galatasaray SK), the "national treasure center." Park, who led KB Stars to the runner-up in the championship last season with the highest winning percentage (.900), swept the regular league MVP, defense award, BEST5, and Yoon Deok-ju (contribution score No. 1). It was the first time for her to win eight gold medals, surpassing the seven she recorded twice in the 2020-2021 season and the 2021-2022 season.
However, Park Ji-soo advanced to the European league after the end of the last season, and without Park Ji-soo, the WKBL has truly become the "Spring and Autumn Warring States Period of Military Manpower." Many clubs, and ace players of those clubs, are fiercely competing from the beginning to become the top of this season, when there is no absolute strong player named Park Ji-soo. This means that there is nothing strange about which of the ace players of each club becomes the new No. 1 player this season.
Kim, who played as the ace of Shinhan Bank's S-Bird until last season, became an FA ahead of this season and moved to BNK Sum. As she is the first top scorer as a reward player, there were expectations that she would display explosive scoring at BNK, but Kim is focusing on playing to save her teammates rather than scoring at the beginning of this season. In fact, Kim was only 11th in scoring (13.50 points), but tied for second in assists (4.50 points).
The prevailing view was that KB's new ace player Park Ji-soo has left would naturally be Kang Yi-seul, the captain of the national team. However, point guard Heo Ye-eun shines more than Kang in the early days of the season. Heo has scored 14 points (9th) on average, recorded 10 assists (1st) and 2.50 steals (38th) in the two matches since the opening of the season. Heo is ranking first in three categories including assists, playing time (38 minutes) and success rate of two points (88.9 percent).
Jinan, who left BNK to move to Hana Bank ahead of this season, is also performing well in line with the "FA big fish" at the beginning of the season. Jinan has continued its best performance throughout the offense and defense, including 20.33 points (3rd), 13.67 rebounds (1st), 1.33 steals (9th), 0.67 contributions (1st), and 126.50 contributions (2nd). Considering that Kim Jong-un, Kim Si-on, and Park So-hee, who are key players of the team, are absent due to injuries, Jinan's early performance is even more remarkable.
Leading the five categories, including early points in the season
Kim Sonia, Heo Ye-eun, and Jinan continue to compete to become the new No. 1 player this season by performing well in each position, but Woori Bank's Kim Dan-bi is by far the most brilliant player in the early days of the season. In fact, Woori Bank was evaluated to have weakened its power significantly after the end of last season due to Park Ji-hyun (Tokomana and Queens)'s overseas expansion and Choi Yi-sam (Shinhan Bank S-Bird), Park Hye-jin (BNK), and Na Yoon-jung's transfer to FA.
Woori hurriedly reinforced its players after a large number of its main players left the team, but ended the season with a weak performance that was even hard to compare with the past two seasons when it won the championship for two consecutive championships. Even "great man" coach Wi Sung-woo, who led Woori to nine championships, worried that this season would never be easy. However, Woori had Kim Dan-bi, who is more familiar with the weight of the ace since his days as Shinhan.
Kim Dan-bi led Woori Bank's first win by scoring 34 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks from the opening game against "Friendly" Shinhan Bank on October 28. Woori Bank, which won its first game in a good mood, suffered a 54-70 defeat in the home opener against BNK, which greatly strengthened its power on the 2nd. However, Kim Dan-bi also worked hard in this game, with 34 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block shot, accounting for 63% of Woori Bank's points.
With one win and one loss in two games, Woori faced Samsung Life Insurance, which has lost two games in a row, in its third game. And Kim Dan-bi led Woori to a come-from-behind victory with 30 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks in the game. Kim scored 30 points in three consecutive games since the opening of the season, a record not only common in men's professional basketball but also in the NBA, which has a 48-minute game time.
Of course, 30 points in three consecutive games is a very valuable record, but in fact, it is never desirable for Kim Dan-bi, a 34-year-old player, to score 30 points each while playing full-time in each game. Coach Wi Sung-woo hopes that Kim Dan-bi will score around 20 points and save his teammates' points. 토토사이트
Currently, Woori Bank does not have many players who can actively score points by helping Kim Dan-bi, and in the end, Kim Dan-bi chose to become a "solver" himself at the beginning of the season.