Professional basketball’s Wonju DB upset title favorite Busan KCC, a team often referred to as a “super team,” to win its opening three games in a row.

DB defeated KCC 101-90 in a home game of the 2023-2024 regular season at Wonju General Gymnasium on Monday.

DB, which has knocked off Goyang Sono and Changwon LG since the start of the season, beat KCC, which is considered the “No. 1 favorite” in the home opener, for its third straight win to move into a tie for first place with Ulsan Hyundai Mobis.

The victory was even more meaningful as the retirement ceremony of ‘one-club man’ Yoon Ho-young, who played his entire professional career in a DB uniform from 2008 to last season, was held at halftime.

On the other hand, KCC, which showed off the majesty of its luxury corps by defeating Seoul Samsung in its first game in its new home city of Busan on Feb. 22, failed to extend its winning streak to three games.

From the first quarter, KCC’s fast-paced offense, led by Alize DeShawn Johnson, opened up a double-digit lead.

After four three-pointers in the first quarter by Jung Chang-young gave KCC a 32-17 lead, Heo Woong and Lee Geun-hwi were hot in the second quarter, giving KCC a 49-31 lead with 3:20 left.

However, DB, led by Dedrick Lawson, fought back in the final minutes of the half to cut the deficit to 10 points, 44-54, midway through the third quarter, but back-to-back baskets by Lawson and Minsoo Seok to cut the deficit to 59-65 set the tone for the rest of the quarter.

With Lawson and Johnson trading baskets, the score was 76-71 in favor of KCC at the end of the third quarter.

DB, who scored the first points of the fourth quarter on a steal by Lee Sun Albano to make it a full-fledged seesaw game, tied the score at 83-83 on another Albano layup with 7:03 left, and took the lead for good at 85-83 with 6:16 left on an offensive rebound by Lawson.

After a series of unsuccessful offensive attempts by Johnson, who was locked in by the opponent’s cooperative defense, DB went up 93-83 with 4:20 left on a three-pointer by Kang Sang-jae and a three-point play by Albano.

KCC then pulled Johnson and inserted LaGuernea to try to put out the fire, but could not reverse the momentum.

Lawson led the way with 38 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Kang with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Albano with 18 points and nine assists.

For KCC, Johnson led the way with 23 points and 21 rebounds, but was unable to escape the blame for the loss as he committed six turnovers.

At Daegu Gymnasium, LG registered its first win after three straight losses to open the season with a 92-83 victory over Daegu Korea Gas Corporation.

Asem Marei recorded a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while transfer Yang Hong-seok added 15 points, including four 3-pointers, and Justin Gutang added 12 points.

Gasworks fell to their second straight loss after failing to capitalize on Andrew Nicholson’s 31-point, 10-rebound performance. 파워볼분석