KT and Korea Gas Corporation, which have exposed certain complementary points, are the keys to the game of Game 3?
Apr 15, 2025
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In the first game held on the 12th, Korea Gas Corporation won 67 to 64, but KT succeeded in counterattacking 75 to 71 in the second game on the 14th.
As such, the first game is only 3 points and the second game is only 4 points apart. As Andrew Nicholson, the main scorer of Gas Corporation, failed to come out from the first game due to a back injury, and even the second option, Eun Do-ye, left due to injury, it was not expected that KT would flow at a one-sided pace.
It is thanks to the `super play' over the airlift of Mankok Mathien, a replacement for Gas Corporation. In any case, during the first and second games, the two teams were exposed to areas that needed to be supplemented. KT's revival of one-option foreign player Ration Hammons, and Gas Corporation's performance must be accompanied by domestic players to not only advance to the semifinal PO but also to go beyond that.
For KT, Hammonds is completely blocked by Matien and continues to play difficult games. Hammons, who had a consistent offense that ranked fourth overall with 17.7 points per game in the regular league, suffered the humiliation of not making a single field goal in the first game, and the second game was tied to scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter, only scoring five points. As he continued to suffer from Matiang's shot block, he was clearly shrinking. As a result, there was a vicious cycle in defense that allowed a large number of runs to Matian repeatedly.
Jordan Morgan, a two-option foreign player, supplemented this, but if Hammons' under-the-goal play does not survive, KT, which has to play games 3rd to 4th in Daegu, the home of Gas Corporation, will have no choice but to play a more difficult game. KT manager Song Young-jin also said after the second game that `We have to save Hammons' offense even by making pattern plays,' while Huh Hoon and Moon Jung-hyun also "Hammons must revive." There is a limit to the outskirts. This is why he voiced his expectation that he would solve it well.
Although Matiang and Sam Josef Vellangel played a two-top role in two consecutive games, the rest of the Korean players are also playing a difficult schedule, except for Jung Sung-woo, who scored 20 points in the first game.
Nicholson is expected to join from Game 3, but even if he goes on the court again, it is not easy to expect a performance that has ranked second overall in the regular league scoring. Martian's physical strength, who has been playing almost full-time for two consecutive games, is also worrisome, but as shown in the second game, how long domestic players should hold out when Martian goes out to the bench for rest is the key to victory.
In addition, in the second game, two main games, Kim Nak-hyun and Kim Joon-il, suffered ankle injuries in the first and second quarters, respectively, and went to the bench, and other domestic players are in a difficult situation where they have to decide whether to put them in after checking their injury status. Game 3, which will be a watershed in the series, will be held at Daegu Gymnasium on the 16th.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
