“Our team finished second last year and first the year before in the weekend league. We want to make sure we don’t lose the first and second place in the group.”
Hwayango lost 70-91 against Jeonju in Group E of the 2024 Korea Basketball Weekend League Regional Qualifiers at Jeonju Gymnasium on March 30.
After finishing the first half down 25-49, Hwayango scored 32 points in the third quarter to pull within 57-66, but eventually crumbled under the intense pressure of their opponents in the early 스포츠토토사이트 fourth quarter.
Despite the team’s loss, the performance of Seo Sung-hyo, who paved the way for the third-quarter comeback, stood out. Seo finished as the team’s top scorer with 23 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots in 38 minutes and six seconds.
“I didn’t play well in the last Federation Championship (in May), so I worked hard to prepare for the weekend league, but I’m improving (my performance) a lot through this tournament. We’re getting better and better,” Seo said after the tournament.
“In the game against Daejeon Go (61-58, win), we didn’t make many mistakes, but against Jeonju, we made a lot of mistakes, which was too bad. I think I was nervous because I thought Jeonju was a strong team. They’re not a tall team, so we tried to use box outs to gain an advantage in height, but the pressure showed in our performance,” she said, reflecting on her last two matches.
“Coach has been emphasizing give-and-go basketball lately. I’m trying to make more plays where I come up to the high post and make a connection, and then either cut in right away or move to the next opportunity,” he said.
Seo, who started playing basketball the summer after his sophomore year of middle school, participated in the 36-man training camp for the U18 men’s national team in June.
“It’s a place where good players come from, so I personally thought, ‘Can I be selected?’ I learned a lot from the players who were good at teamwork and individual skills,” he said.
When asked if there was a player who caught his eye in the national team training, he said, “Samilgo Wee Jin-seok plays the same center position, but he is good at playing under the basket, which I lack. I thought I should train more to improve my skills,” he said.
He added, “The national team teachers emphasize defense a lot. They advised me that I should practice a lot of pressure defense and forward zone defense because I will be playing other positions besides the No. 5 position in my career.”
Finally, Seo Sung-hyo said, “My team was second last year and first the year before in the weekend league. We want to make sure we don’t lose our first and second place in the group. As our performance is improving, we want to take advantage of the atmosphere and get a good result in the last game,” he said, adding, “I want to become a player who can be used at the right time as a basketball player. I will do my best to fill in the gaps and improve.”
Meanwhile, Hwayango, which is in Group E with Jeonju-Daejeon-Gunsan-Gunsan-Gwangju, had earlier defeated Gunsan-Gunsan (9-0, in a disqualifying loss) and Daejeon-Go (61-58). The result brings their weekend league record to 2-1. On July 6, the team will face Gwangju Go. The winner of that game will advance to the Wangjung Wang as the runner-up in Group E.
