Cleared the weakness of height with an outpouring! BNK beats Samsung Life Insurance to win the first round of PO
Mar 03, 2025
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BNK beat Samsung Life Insurance 66-57 in the first round of the playoffs of the 「Hana Bank 2024-2025 Women's Professional Basketball」 held at Sajik Gymnasium in Busan on the 3rd. This is because there is an 82.7% chance that a team that has won the first playoff in history will go to the championship.
BNK lost the top spot to Woori Bank at the last minute due to injuries in two weeks, including Park Hye-jin and Lee So-hee, after racing to the top of the regular league until the middle and late stages of the regular league, but it was clearly worth playing the first game of the PO at home while keeping the second place. If BNK uses this momentum to catch the second game, the possibility of reaching the second championship match since its foundation will be much higher.
The importance of the first postseason game was recognized by both the head coaches and players of both teams even without mentioning the probability ahead. Park Jung-eun, neither BNK nor Samsung Life Insurance coach Ha Sang-yoon can afford to prepare for the second game before the game. That's why he voiced his voice, "I must win the first round unconditionally."
BNK was weak against Samsung Life Insurance with 2 wins and 4 losses this season. The two games were unilaterally pushed by a double-digit score gap. However, his opponent at home in Busan is strong with 2 wins and 1 loss, and he thoroughly utilized the strength of the best members joining the starting lineup, following Park Hye-jin and Lee So-hee. And from the beginning, strong pressure, superiority, and effective blocking of Bae Hye-yoon, the core of Samsung Life's offense and defense, using active defensive rotation became the winning equation.
It was hard to determine the advantage until the middle and late of the first half. BNK made all-out efforts to stop Bae Hye-yoon to the extent that he recorded four team fouls in about three minutes after the start of the first quarter. In the meantime, Park Hye-jin and Iijima Saki combined with Kim Sonia's three-point play to lead 9-2. Samsung Life Insurance put Lee Ju-yeon, who is recovering from his injury, early on and began to find a way out when the inexperienced guard Jo Su-ah was blocked from the front. In addition, Kiana Smith, who also went into rehabilitation at the end of the regular season due to an elbow injury, was quickly hired, expanding the attack option focused on Bae Hye-yoon and starting a chase.
In the second quarter, BNK actively employed Sixmen, who gave many opportunities to play in the second half of the regular league, including Park Sung-jin, Shim Soo-hyun, and Byun So-jung, and arranged the physical strength of the main players. Against the three BNK Park Hye-jin, Saki Kim Sonia, Samsung Life Insurance faced Bae Hye-yoon and Kiana Lee Hae-ran, ending the first half with BNK leading 34-27.
In the third quarter, both teams were in a bit of a lull, but BNK maintained its lead with Kim Sonia's consecutive six points. In the last four sets, BNK also erased its weaknesses in height with an outer gun. Veteran Park Hye-jin, who scored 12 points including two deep three points until the third quarter, made two consecutive three-pointers and added Lee So-hee's three-pointer, widening the gap to 56-46 with about five minutes left before the end of the game. Samsung Life Insurance's Lee Hae-ran and Kiana were responsible for scoring in the fourth quarter instead of Bae Hye-yoon, but other players' poor performance was painful.
In BNK, Park Hye-jin scored 21 points, including four three points, Kim Sonia 15 points, Lee So-hee 13 points, and Saki 10 points.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
