Once again, Hyundai Mobis tied for second place, and Samsung, the lowest, won by sweat...Veteran Ham Ji-hoon's surprise performance in the fourth quarter led to 6361 3 consecutive wins

Mar 11, 2025

Ulsan Hyundai Mobis has returned to the joint second place with consecutive wins.

Hyundai Mobis won 63-61 after a last-minute bloody battle against Seoul Samsung in the home game of the '2024-2025 KCC Professional Basketball' held at Dongcheon Gymnasium in Ulsan on the 11th.

Hyundai Mobis, which recorded 27 wins and 16 losses along with three consecutive wins, returned to joint second place with Changwon LG, while Samsung, ranked 10th (13 wins and 30 losses), widened its gap with ninth-ranked Goyang Sono to one game again.

Hyundai Mobis, which has put its life and death into the fight for the second place (directly to the semifinal playoff), and Samsung, which is facing an escape from the bottom, will face off on the same day. In fact, it was not difficult to predict Hyundai Mobis' victory. Hyundai Mobis was the "Samsung Killer" with its victory over Samsung until the fourth round of this season, and Sean Long, who left due to back pain, returned. Even while Sean Long was away, he was in the mood with consecutive wins, so there was nothing strong in the opponent's comparison.

That didn't mean Samsung had no hope. In the previous game against Wonju DB on the 8th, he earned more than one win. Samsung, which won 83-75 after extra time, broke the chain of 11 consecutive losses against DB, which continued for the second year, along with escaping five consecutive league losses. In other words, it showed the counterattack of 'last place'.

On this day, Samsung also showed the grit of 'You'll get hurt at first sight' and enhanced the fun of watching. The flow just didn't continue to the end like the previous DB match. Samsung's hopes of a counterattack seemed to fall apart from the first quarter After leading 6-2 in the beginning, he scored only two points instead of giving up as many as 19 points for about four minutes. Samsung was helpless about the power of Gage Prim, who swept 10 points by himself.

Samsung, which finished the first quarter with 11-19, made a counterattack in the second quarter contrary to expectations. Sean Long, who played while Prim was resting, lost his composure despite the decision while his performance fell due to the aftereffects of his injury. On top of that, absurd turnovers, such as Han Ho-bin passing to the opponent Choi Seung-wook in a relaxed build-up situation, caught Hyundai Mobis.

Three minutes and 30 seconds before the end of the second quarter, Hyundai Mobis, which came from behind 28-29, swept its surprised heart by finishing the first half 37-35 thanks to Prim's solid under-the-goal play again. The battle, which was fueled by Samsung's counterattack, escalated in the third quarter. If Hyundai Mobis tries to run away a little, Samsung's persistent close race continued. The score difference was only fierce, but in fact, the content of the game was 'empty battle'.

Scores rarely accumulated while the players exchanged shooting misses, turnovers, and interceptions as if they were a seesaw game. Two minutes and 47 seconds before the end of the quarter, the two teams added only six points each before Samsung's Justin Gutang hit a come-from-behind (44-43) three-point game.

The close game, which was 1 to 3 points apart, continued fiercely until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Here was a person who built a bridge to change the atmosphere. This is Ham Ji-hoon, a 41-year-old veteran. He led the 58-53 lead with three consecutive two-pointers from about eight minutes before the end. Ham Ji-hoon scored seven points in the fourth quarter alone, including one free throw 51.7 seconds before the end, and played an Altoran role in the team's victory by one point, including a defensive rebound 41 seconds before the end.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.