# "Super Team" KCC a real Super Team

Jeon Chang-jin 61, one of the best players in the KBL, advanced to his sixth championship game. Despite twists and turns, he displayed outstanding ability by bringing together strong players. Indeed, it was the last puzzle for a super team.

KCC won 80-63 in the fourth round of the 2023-2024 professional basketball semifinal playoff best-of-five series against Wonju DB Promy, the No. 1 regular league player, at Sajik Indoor Gymnasium in Busan at 6 p.m. on the 21st.

This is the 11th time for KCC to advance to the championship game in three seasons after the 2020-21 season and the previous one. It was also the first time since the launch of the KBL in 1997, that a fifth-ranked team in the regular league beat first-place in the playoffs to advance to the championship. Previously, all 12 matches between first and fifth-place finishers ended with the advantage of the regular league winners.

KCC is a team that is not strange in terms of its membership in terms of championship challenges. KCC has strong capabilities including Heo Woong, Lee Seung-hyun, Ra Gun-ah and Song Kyo-chang over the past few years, and has recruited Choi Joon-yong, a former MVP, and guard Lee Ho-hyun ahead of this season. Jeon even made a hot promise, saying, "If you fail to win, you should quit."

However, as the season enters, a number of injuries have continuously increased, resulting in complicated steps. Choi Jun-yong missed the first five games due to injury at the KBL Cup even before starting the season. Song Kyo-chang, who was discharged from military service from Sangmu, also exited the team at the end of the season due to calf and toe injuries. When guards including Lee Ho-hyun and Jeong Chang-young were excluded, Choi served as a ball handler.

As a result, KCC, dubbed "super team," failed to hit high ground as it lost four consecutive games in the first place. In defense, the team showed weakness in teamwork, dedicating points to the opponent, and frequently giving up the flow when turnovers occurred when the team should not have come out. As the number of injured people poured in, the team lacked time to coordinate with each other. Coach Jeon also diagnosed that during the season, the team lost concentration momentarily, and failed to score turnovers or easy points.

However, KCC found solidity as the team's teamwork revived at the end of the season. Notably, the team's members including Lee Seung-hyun and Ra Gun-ah revived in the last season. Although KCC competed for fourth place until the last minute, it eventually ranked fifth with 30 wins and 24 losses winning rate of 0.556.

KCC has displayed completely different performance in the playoffs. In the round of 6 playoff against the Seoul SK Wyverns, he overwhelmed his opponents by winning more than 20 points each game. At the time, Jeon was full of confidence. "I had two days of practice and the atmosphere was quite good. I expected that I would make it to the round of 6 but it turned out well. I was able to gain confidence," he said.

The DB, the winner of the regular league, faced off against them in the semifinal. DB led the league with 41 wins and 13 losses 0.759 throughout the season. KCC was lagging behind DB with one win and five losses during the season. However, the team gained momentum with the 95-83 victory in the first game held in Wonju. Although the team lost the second game 71-80, it returned home and won the third game 102-90, leaving only one win to advance to the Champions League.

However, there was a controversy over the decision in the third game, and the DB demanded a briefing session on the referee's decision on the eve of the fourth game. Ahead of the fourth game, Jeon even confessed, "I feel heavy because it is noisy. I want to win because I am getting better at it." Jeon said, "We know each other's strengths and weaknesses in 10 games 6 games in the season + 4 games in the playoffs. It depends on who is better at mental armament."

And the result was a complete victory for KCC. Defensively, the team dominated the rebound fight 44-42, and especially in the second half, 26-12. Song Kyo-chang, Heo Woong, and Choi Jun-yong also got a boost as Ra Gun-ah showed off her strength under the basket with 17 rebounds and six blocks. Finally, the puzzle of the Super Team, which KCC had been proud of, was solved.

After the match, Jeon said, "I'm happy to finish the semifinal match at home. I think the players were mentally well-armed and finished the fourth game." "As I told you on Media Day, if you don't win, you'll be criticized. I hope I win and avoid being criticized because I've been criticized a lot."

In particular, Jeon referred to the second and third rounds as a critical moment. "If we lose the game, there was an article that said 'Super Team collapsed.' All the members rarely stand on the court together, and the modifiers always follow," he said. "Fans have high expectations, but they are not satisfied with it. There are fans who swear, and I am 60 years old, but I can't feel good about it."

Now, however, he is different. "I overcame difficulties. The players were also very proud, so I thought they would be able to play in the playoffs," Jeon said confidently. "The players listened to me well. I gained confidence from that situation. If you concede and be selfless, you will lose to no one. The rotation is good, and the players are ready to play their part," he said, referring to the positive side.

Now, KCC will play the best-of-seven championship game against the winner of the semifinal playoff between Suwon KT and Changwon LG from the 27th. "The two teams have their strengths and weaknesses. They have played every game six times," Jeon said. "I am confident in either team." [배트맨토토](https://www.betmantoto.org)