Samsung Life’s first public scrimmage was a success.
On Friday, Yongin Samsung Life won a 74-66 scrimmage against Tokai University of Japan at the 토토 Samsung Training Center (STC) in Yongin.
WKBL teams don’t usually open their offseason scrimmages to fans. Fans have to wait for the team’s social media to post about the scrimmages and results. In contrast, most KBL teams open their practices to fans.
Until now, Samsung Life was unable to do so even if they wanted to. The practice court at STC, where Samsung Life trains, does not have spectators, while the practice court at the neighboring gym, Seoul Samsung, does. Samsung Life asked Samsung for permission, and Samsung graciously agreed, allowing the first public practice game to take place.
A Samsung Life representative said, “This is the first time we’ve held a public practice game. “We hadn’t thought about holding a public practice game because we didn’t have spectator seats on our practice court. We wanted to make it public, and then we thought of Samsung’s practice court. We talked to Samsung about it and they agreed. We were able to open up the scrimmage to our fans.”
Well over 100 fans came to STC to watch the scrimmage. There were students from nearby basketball classes, families, and even fans from other teams who were excited to see the women’s basketball team open their practices to the public. The game was played in the offseason, but the atmosphere was electric.
Kim Dong-wook (48) said, “It’s almost like the first time. You can’t enter the STC unless you’re an official. I wanted to come, but since the practice game was open to the public, I was able to see the space where the players train, and it was fun to look around and think, “This is the place I saw on Blooming TV (Samsung Life’s YouTube channel). I think it’s great for the fans, but I think it’s also great for the players.”
Park Chae-han (22) said, “It’s the offseason and there’s a lot of time left until the Park Shinja Cup, so I don’t have a chance to watch basketball. I was very excited when I heard that I could watch my favorite teams and players play in this open practice game. It was even more exciting to see where the players live. I’ve seen a lot of these spaces on YouTube. The entrance to the gym was especially familiar. Nowadays, the number of fans of women’s basketball is increasing, so I think it would be a great opportunity for other teams to hold practice games, and I think many fans will go to watch.”