After being crowned ‘unified champions’ and winning a ‘hard-fought victory’ in the opening game of the new season, Asan Woori Bank women’s professional basketball team head coach Satellite Woo is eager for veteran guard Park Hye-jin to return.

At a press conference after the official opening home game of the 2023-2024 season against Busan BNK at Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium on the 5th, Woo said, “It was inevitable that I felt pressure because it was the first game of the season. I expected it to be a difficult game,” he said, adding, “I can’t say we played well, but I think we won because we didn’t lose our focus when it mattered.”

Woori Bank, which won the regular season and championship last season, won its first game of the new season against BNK 74-70 in overtime.

It was a hard-fought victory in what was billed as a “return match” against last season’s championship final opponent. Last season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kim Dan-bi continued to make an impact with a triple-double (32 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists).

“I could see that the players’ shoulders were heavy, but I think the fact that we didn’t lose the rebounding battle was a winning factor,” said Wee.

“Players like Kim Dan-bi and Park Ji-hyun who have been on the national team are still not feeling well. They struggled a lot in practice and didn’t play well,” he said, adding, “I think it will take a few rounds.”

With Park Hye-jin sidelined with a plantar injury and the national team players not yet in full fitness, Woori Bank also lost transfer player Yoo Seung-hee during the match, who was unable to play after being sidelined with an injury.

“Yoo Seung-hee injured her knee, which was already sore. I think she should go to the hospital to check her condition,” he said.

“Even an orphan has a bad knee and can hardly exercise, so I shouldn’t have made her play so much, but it was the opening match, so I pushed her a little too hard,” sighed Wei, who added, “There are some things that senior players should do. We also need (Park) Hye-jin to come back as soon as possible.”

Park Hye-jin recently joined the team and is still in the recovery phase, so it is difficult to gauge when she will return, according to Wei.

“I think it’s the first time I’ve coached Woori Bank and started the season without Park Hye-jin. It’s definitely different when she’s there and when she’s not,” he said, adding, “I hope she’ll warm up even if she doesn’t play much.”

BNK’s Park Jeong-jeong, who almost caught the ‘big fish’ Woori Bank in the opening game but narrowly missed out, said, “We didn’t do what we needed to do when we needed to concentrate in the decisive game, which led to our defeat.” “I think it was a game with something to gain, where the players found a way for the next game,” she said.

For BNK, rookie Kim Jong-un made his mark with two three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Even the opposing coach said, “He has his own timing when he goes up to shoot. It’s not easy for a rookie to shoot like that,” and “I saw that his accuracy and ball release were good. I thought a good player had arrived.” He even praised him.

“It’s not an experience that money can buy, so I wanted him to experience it,” Park said. He seemed to find a way while playing,” Park said, adding, “It was encouraging to see him trying to implement what I told him. I’ll try to nurture him well,” Park smiled. 온라인카지노