Joo Helps Kites Rejoin Top Three
By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
With two weeks to go before the end of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) season, it is getting harder to predict who will fill the six-team play-off bracket, except for the Dongbu Promy.
The defending champion Promy are closer to clinching a first-round spot with a 32-16 record, but the runner-up Ulsan Mobis, which are 29-19, are in danger of losing the advantage - awarded to the top two teams - after dropping two straight games last week.
On the other hand, the KT&G Kites and Samsung Thunders, which won all three games during the week, are trailing the Mobis by two games, while the KCC Egis, 1/2 game behind the third-ranked teams, share fifth with the ET Land BlackSlamer.
The Incheon-based BlackSlamer have boosted their play-off hopes through victory in three consecutive matches.
The LG Sakers, which have steadily stayed in the top six, were forced into seventh after losing three games in a row.
The Kites succeeded in staying among the top three teams - and in the middle of their ascendancy, veteran guard Joo Hee-jung controlled the team.
In Wednesday's game against the Daegu Orions in Daegu, Joo, who recorded a 4,000th assist - the first time the feat has been achieved in KBL history _ led the Kites to a 112-101 overtime victory, pouring in 25 points with 10 assists.
As the Kites won the other two games against the SK Knights and Sakers, they are on a run of four straight victories.
Fellow third-placed Thunders have generated the best record against the top two, Promy and Mobis, and regional rival the Knights.
Though the Seoul-based outfit suffered a four-game losing streak two weeks ago, the determined Thunders have been rebounding.
Especially on Sunday, the blue jersey-wearing team came from behind against the red jersey-wearing Knights.
Trailing the Knights by 18 at the end of the third quarter, they turned the game around.
The Thunders import Terrance Leather led the team's valuable victory, pouring in 29 of 33 points during the second half, with 11 rebounds
As the Knights lost what was a very important game, their hopes to advance to the playoffs floated ever further away. Though the Knights have six games left to play, they trail four games behind the sixth-placed team.
The Egis, meanwhile, continued to show enhanced performances. The team was ranked fifth with the BlackSlamer with a 26-22.
The BlackSlamer center, Seo Jang-hoon, led his team's advance and ended Sunday's victory by scoring 32 points, including five 3-pointers against the Orions in Daegu.
The BlackSlamer's ascendancy appears to have scared the other teams around them. After the All-Star break, the Incheon-based team has marked a 10-1 record.
The Egis, managed by Huh Jae, are seated in the same place, but the coach has a new agony with which to grapple. Their rookie guard Kang Byung-hyun has injured his leg, and he is expected to be on the sidelines for the rest of the season.
While five teams struggled to leverage an advantage by attaining a better position, a number of managers have the misfortune of dealing with injuries to key players.
The Thunders veteran guard Lee Sang-min was rested in light of an ankle injury and the Kites forward Yang Hee-jong picked up a shoulder problem.
The seventh-placed Sakers, which marked a 25-24 record, are looking forward to rejoining the top six, but their guard Park Ji-hyun is also on the sidelines because of an ankle injury.