KCC, new history for first win in 5th place in regular league Heo Woong, first ‘father-son MVP’

After defeating KT, he finished the championship with 4 wins and 1 loss. Heo Hoon of KT, the 6th player in his first season after moving from Jeonju to Busan ,and the first player in 13 years, made a great performance with an average of 27 points in 5 games. Heo Woong “Someday I’ll be on the same team as my younger brother”

KCC reached the top of the professional basketball championship game this season. KCC's Heo Woong (31) was selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the championship match, following in the footsteps of his father Heo Jae (59), the 'basketball president'.

KCC defeated KT 88-70 in the 5th game of the 2023-2024 season professional basketball championship (4 wins out of 7) held in Suwon on the 5th and lifted the championship trophy with a series record of 4 wins and 1 loss. This is the 6th time KCC has won the championship, including its predecessor, Hyundai, and the first time in 13 years since the 2010-2011 season. At the time of the team's last win 13 years ago, KCC's coach was Heo Jae. KCC also set a new record of winning as the 5th place team in the regular league. This is the first time since the launch of professional basketball in 1997 that the 5th place team in the regular league won the championship. KCC defeated SK, the team ranked 4th in the regular league, in the semifinal playoffs (PO), and even defeated DB, ranked 1st in the regular league, in the semifinal PO to advance to the championship game.

Ahead of the season opening, KCC was called a 'super team'. This is because they have a powerful force by recruiting Heo Woong, Lee Seung-hyun, and La Geon-ah to the national team line, as well as Choi Jun-yong, who played for SK and earned free agent (FA) status. Ahead of the opening of this season, coaches from 10 clubs selected candidates for the championship, and 7 called KCC's name. However, KCC struggled early in the season due to injuries to key players, and was so poor that it recorded its first consecutive win in 14 games. Then, as the injured players returned and Song Kyo-chang, who completed his military service, joined, the team gradually developed the power of a super team, and eventually advanced from 5th place to the top.

With KCC's rise to the top on this day, Heo Woong became the first 'rich man to win' in Korean professional basketball. In this championship match, which attracted attention due to the sibling match between Heo Woong and Heo Hoon (29, KT), there was bound to be a case of 'rich man winning' no matter which team won. His father, Heo Jae, won a championship while playing for Kia in 1997, the first year of his professional basketball career, and TG in the 2002-2003 season. Heo Woong was selected as the MVP of the championship by voting by reporters, making him the first 'rich MVP' in professional basketball. Heo Jae was the MVP of the 1997-1998 championship season when he played for Kia, and he is the only player from the runner-up team that lost in the championship to be selected as MVP in the 27-year history of professional basketball. Heo Woong, who showed tears on the court, said, “I worked hard for a year to win. “I shed tears of happiness because I thought of my colleagues, managers, and coaches with whom I spent more time than my family.” Regarding his younger brother Heo Hoon, who he faced in the championship, he said, “I don’t know when that will happen, but I want to do my best together on the same team in the future.” Heo Woong scored an average of 18.8 points in five championship games, including 21 points in Game 5.

KCC has enjoyed the joy of winning the championship trophy to its home fans since the first season when it moved its hometown to Busan. It has been 27 years since professional soccer team Daewoo (now Busan) in 1997 that a professional sports team based in Busan won the championship. KCC used Jeonju as its home until last season. KCC coach Jeon Chang-jin said, “It was quite unfortunate that we were unable to show a good performance to our home fans as we placed 5th in the regular league. “I’m happy to win, but I think it would have been better if we had won in front of our home fans in Busan,” he said.

KT, which entered the championship stage for the first time in 17 years since the 2006-2007 season, attempted to win its first championship since its founding, but was unable to overcome the barrier of 'super team' KCC. Heo Hoon worked hard, scoring an average of 26.6 points in 5 championship games, including 29 points in Game 5, but gave the championship trophy to his older brother.  스포츠토토