The women’s professional basketball 2023-2024 season championship match three wins out of five which will begin on the 24th draws attention to the “Ace showdown” between Cheongju KB Park Ji-soo and Asan Woori Bank Kim Dan-bi.
In the last two years, KB won the championship game in the 2021-2022 season, and in the 2022-2023 season, Woori Bank took the throne, and Park Ji-soo won the MVP of the championship game in the 2021-2022 season and Kim Dan-bi in the 2022-2023 season.
The two also shone the most this season.
Park swept the MVP in the first to fifth rounds of the regular season league and even won the MVP award in the All-Star game. Park ranked first in scoring, rebounding, and block shots, and Park also contributed the most.
When Park Ji-soo, who led KB to the integrated victory in the 2021-2022 season, was away due to panic disorder in the 2022-2023 season, KB was pushed to fifth place and did not even make the playoffs, which is an absolute share of KB.
Against this backdrop, Kim Dan-bi ranked second in scoring, fifth in rebounds, and third in contribution, and set a record for the most wins (319 wins) by players this season.
In the semifinal playoff against Yongin Samsung Life Insurance, he played all 40 minutes and flew with 31 points and 14 rebounds.
KB and Woori Bank have won once in the past two years, but in fact, it was not the result of the two teams, which are considered the “two strongest teams,” putting their all into action.
In the 2021-2022 season, KB defeated Woori Bank 3-0 in the championship game, and as of the first round of the championship game, KB took 7 days off and Woori Bank took only 2 days off.
This is because Woori Bank’s semifinal playoff has been delayed by four days from schedule due to a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) problem in Shinhan Bank in Incheon, the opponent team.
On the other hand, KB ended the semifinal playoff on its original schedule, causing an “unfair controversy” due to a big difference in the rest day ahead of the championship game, and it was even before Kim Dan-bi joined Woori Bank.
Last season, KB failed to use its full strength as it failed to advance to the playoffs due to Park Ji-soo’s absence.
Woori Bank recruited Kim Dan-bi as a free agent ahead of the opening of the 2022-2023 season and called for “Down with KB,” but KB failed to advance to the semifinals and won a somewhat bland title.
With the women’s basketball “two strongest teams” colliding head-on this year for the first time in a long time, the performance of the aces is expected to have a big impact on wins and losses.
In particular, due to the nature of Woori Bank, which does not have a clear center, Park Ji-soo and Kim Dan-bi are expected to face each other in attack and defense.
KBS commentator Son Dae-beom said, “If Park Ji-soo is blocked as a double team, the accuracy of the attack will decrease due to the exhaustion of physical strength,” and predicted, “As Kim Dan-bi is also a matchup that has a heavy burden on defense, Woori Bank will also be an important variable in how much the outer part of the Six Men goes into.” 안전놀이터