By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
The KT SonicBoom saw their winning streak snapped at eight games but still maintained their position atop the league standings and became the first Korean Basketball League (KBL) team to notch 10 victories this past week.
Meanwhile, the bottom dog ET Land Elephants continue to struggle, losing their 12th straight game this past week, while the Daegu Orions have received the boost they hoped for with the return of Kim Seung-hyun and won all three of their games last week.
It was the Dongbu Promy that halted the SonicBoom's win streak, scoring an 86-80 win on Friday in Wonju.
Promy import forward Marquin Chandler poured in 27 points and grabbed six rebounds and franchise star Kim Joo-sung notched 17 points and six boards. The Promy also managed to limit KBL top scorer Jasper Johnson to just 18 points, including just five in the first half.
With Johnson limited in the first half, forward Song Young-jin picked up the slack, scoring all 15 of his points before halftime. The game remained close until the final two minutes when Promy sophomore Yoon Ho-young and Chandler each managed to score on penetrations into the paint. The Promy shut down Johnson with a double team and pushed the lead to seven with 90 seconds left. The win allowed the Promy to temporarily move into a tie with the SonicBoom for first place.
On Sunday, the SonicBoom regained sole possession of first with a solid 93-73 win ― their 10th ― against the SK Knights while the Promy lost to the Orions 72-58.
Guard Kim Seung-hyun showed that he is rounding into form after missing the first round, recording a double-double ― 11 points and 10 assists. Jung Hoon helped solidify the win with 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.
The teams entered the final period tied at 47 and the Orions came out quickly and took a small lead. Whenever the Promy got close, Kim seemed to make a brilliant play to keep his team on top. Kim made two nice passes that set up two three-pointers by Jung and the guard sunk a deep ball of his own.
Making matters worse for the Promy, big man Kim Joo-sung fouled out in the fourth, leaving them weak inside.
The KCC Egis took a step forward and two steps back last week, first posting a 95-66 win over the LG Sakers Tuesday before falling 87-84 to the Ulsan Mobis Thursday and 87-83 to the Samsung Thunders Saturday.
The Jeonju-based team, which expected to be near the top of the standings this year, is hovering just above .500 at 7-6 and shares fifth place with the Knights. The Thunders are in seventh place at 6-6.
The Elephants still can't find a way to win, despite a coaching change and a big trade last week with the KT&G Kites.
The Elephants lost 72-66 to Incheon Sunday.