“I was in a slump due to a knee injury, but I’m so happy to be back on top after shaking off the injury.”
On the afternoon of the 21st, the final of the Baekje Muwangbae 2024 National Basketball Championship was held at Iksan Indoor Gymnasium.
The final was a matchup between Daejeon’s powerhouse Winner and Incheon’s dominant Blue Wings, who had won all six games in the quarterfinals. Playing four matches in one day left both teams physically exhausted. It was WINNER who took the lead in the battle of mental strength over physical strength. With the one-two punch of Kim Dong-hoon and 안전놀이터 Yoon Seong-soo, WINNER used their late-game focus to take a 37-27, 10-point victory.
In the final, it was Kim Dong-hoon (29, 185 cm) who had the best performance. With his long-range shooting, Kim was the ace of the team’s offense throughout the tournament, and in the final, he was a key contributor to the victory as he was all over the place inside and out.
“I was in a slump because we didn’t win the national championship this year,” said Kim Dong-hoon, who was named MVP. Personally, I was also in a slump due to a knee injury, but I’m so happy to be back on top after shaking off the injury. Most importantly, my teammates believed in me when I was in a slump, and I’m grateful to them for believing in me and helping me.”
In the quarterfinals against Highball, which was a come-from-behind victory, Kim made several valuable three-pointers to turn the tide of the game. Reflecting on the tournament, he said, “I think that was the biggest challenge of the tournament. They’re a very young and fast high-ball team, so we struggled early on. But in the second half, we were able to make shots from the outside and turn it around.”
The Daejeon-based Winner is in its eighth year of existence. Although the organization is not old, it has grown rapidly, centered on the duo Kim Dong-hoon and Yoon Sung-soo, who were born in 1996, and is now the leading club basketball team in Daejeon.
“There are not many young teams in their 20s in Daejeon, but Winner keeps bringing in young players. “We are trying to participate in as many national tournaments as possible,” he said. ”Our average height is smaller than other teams, so we are focusing on physical strength and outside shooting. In the offensive part, (Yoon) Sung-soo and I will alternate between you once and me once.”
Kim Dong-hoon is no stranger to five-on-five basketball, but also to the 3×3 scene. Masterwok, led by Kim, has recently become a dominant force in the Open Division, winning the title with ease.
“Last year, we won a lot of 3×3 tournaments, but this year, we haven’t won anything yet. I had some knee injury issues, but now I’m in much better shape. I will continue to improve my physical condition so that I can continue my upward trend in the 3×3 tournament.”