By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter

While the Ulsan Mobis extended their winning streak to six to share top spot with the KT SonicBoom and the Dongbu Promy, the bottom dog ET Land Elephants finally ended their losing streak at 13 games in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) this past week.

The Mobis, the top team in the regular season a year ago, have shown competitive strength in all games, whether they won or lost, and that consistency has led them to an 11-5 record.

While the SonicBoom lost two games last week against last season's top teams ― the KCC Egis and Samsung Thunders ― and then beat the Daegu Orions on weekend

The Mobis and Promy, meanwhile, each won twice to move into a tie for first.

The Promy had a chance to move to the top of the standings with win in Sunday's match against the Mobis, but the Yoo Jae-hak-coached team denied them the opportunity, handing the Wonju-based club a 70-66 defeat in Ulsan.

Mobis forward Kim Dong-woo led the offense from outside, scoring 21 points including six 3-pointers. Bryant Dunston, meanwhile, was a force inside with a double-double ― 14 points and 11 boards.

The Promy's defensive strategy was effective early on and focused on limiting Mobis big men Dunston and Ham Ji-hoon. The Promy prevented Mobis from getting the ball inside and forced 13 turnovers in the first half alone. The Mobis could have capitalized with outside shooting but didn't make a shot from downtown and entered the second half behind 50-35.

Dunston and Ham began to have more success under the rim in the second half and Kim's 3-point shooting helped them get back in the game.

A pair of free throws each from Dunston and Yang Don-geun finally put the Mobis ahead 66-64 in the fourth quarter but Kim Joo-sung, the Promy's franchise star who finished with 20 points, made a basket to tie the game. However, another 3-pointer by Kim Dong-woo was the dagger for the Mobis.

Meanwhile, the Elephants finally notched their second victory of the season as the Incheon-based club won 74-71 over the Thunders at home, Saturday.

"I really appreciate my boys, who have endured some really tough times," new Elephants manager Yoo Do-hoon said.

"Whenever my boys give their strongest effort on the court, we have a chance to win," added Yoo.

Foreign center Amal McCaskill had 28 points and eight rebounds for the last place club.

"We have finally gotten rid of this heavy burden," McCaskill asid. "This win is going to help us continue to get better."

On Sunday in Seoul, the defending champion Egis scored an 84-83 victory against the SK Knights on a buzzer beater by Ivan Johnson.

The Egis had an 82-80 lead with 19 seconds left, and after a timeout, Knights' leading guard Joo Hee-jung found veteran sharpshooter Moon Kyung-eun, who drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to give his team an 83-82 lead with just a few seconds left.

But Johnson was the hero for the Egis in the exciting victory when he got the ball from guard Lim Jae-hyun near the rim and made a quick shot to seal it. Johnson scored 20 of his 22 points in the final quarter.

With each team having played 16 of 54 games so far, a new hierarchy in the KBL is beginning to emerge.

Four teams are leading the league, three are in the middle of the pack and the last three look as if they were battle to stay out of the basement.

Among the league's top teams, the Mobis is the only club that was expected to be among the league's best before the season began.

The SonicBoom are proving their ascendancy is not temporary and the Promy's new manager, Kang Dong-hee, has his boys playing with a lot of confidence.

The LG Sakers, who trail the league leaders at 11-6, have been paced by ethnic Korean Moon Tae-young.

The Egis and Thunders, meanwhile, who many tabbed as two of the league's best this year, have both had issues that they have so far been unable to resolve.

The Egis' 2.21-meter center Ha Seung-jin is still capable of overwhelming other big men inside, but ethnic guard Jun Tae-poong and second-year KBL import Micah Brand have not lived up to expectations.

Jun has shown that he has the individual skills to thrive in the Korean league, but that has not translated into wins for the Egis.

Brand's numbers have fallen from last year's totals. He's averaging just 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds, down from 20.3 and 7.5 a year ago.

The Thunders problems could be the simplest, as they've relied too heavily on their powerful duo, center Terrence Leather and ethnic Korean power fowrad Lee Seung-joon. The Thunders may simply need to share the ball more, especially since they are shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc as a team.

The Seoul-based team needs to find a way to incorporate the rest of the team, rather than relying solely on the big men for offense.

yc@koreatimes.co.kr