*This content was translated by AI.
The prelude to the All-Star Game of the Starry Festival has risen. Shooters representing the league, including Lee Jung-hyun (Koyang Sono) and Lee Sun-bano (Wonju DB), made it to the final round of the three-point shoot contest, signaling a real battle.
KBL held a three-point shot, dunk, and one-on-one contest preliminaries at the eve of the 2025-2026 LG Electronics Professional Basketball All-Star Game held at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Seoul on the 17th.
Eddie Daniel (Seoul SK), Jung Sung-jo (Seoul Samsung), Park Jung-woong (Anyang Jeonggwanjang), and Kim Geon-ha (Ulsan Hyundai Mobis) made it to the semifinals in the one-on-one contest at J Park Island Resort, which was newly established this year.
Daniel won the Grand Prize in Basketball at the 2024 Futures Star Awards, which is won by this newspaper, followed by the Grand Prize in Basketball at the 2025 Futures Star Awards this year. Park Jung-woong is the grand prize in the basketball category for the 2024 Futures Star Awards, the previous year.
The one-on-one contest was a stage where you could show off your brilliant individual skills. Recommended players from each club faced off in a tournament manner, and rules were applied to induce fast progress, such as a 10-second attack limit.
The most eye-catching player was rookie Daniel. Danielle, who was predicted to win by Heo Hoon (Busan KCCC), gave up the first four points against Jung Ho-young (DB), but scored seven points under the basket with overwhelming power to win an 8-5 come-from-behind victory. After the game, Jung Ho-young said, "It's like a foreign player. "I've never felt it before," he said, his tongue sticking out.
Jung Sung-jo dramatically joined the semifinals after extra time. Park Jung-woong beat Yang Woo-hyuk (Korea Gas Corporation), who came out in the uniform of Korea Gas Corporation coach Kang Hyuk, 5-3. Kang Sung-wook (Suwon KT), who has made his debut this season, and Heo Hoon, who was considered a strong favorite, were unfortunately absent due to flu and injury, respectively.
In the Pocari Sweat 3-point shooting contest, Lee Jung-hyun, Albano, Derek Williams (KT), and Alvin Tolentino (SK) won the ticket to the final round. The preliminary round was held by throwing 27 balls in a total of seven zones, including five zones and a deep three zone, in 70 seconds.
As a result, Tolentino and Albano scored 20 points side by side to finish first and second in the qualifying round, followed by Lee Jung-hyun and Williams with 19 points. The four will compete for the three-point shooting king position in the final round, which will be held at halftime of the main event on the 18th.
In the preliminary round of the Sports Illustrated Dunk Contest, Kim Myung-jin (SK) and Cho Joon-hee (Samsung) advanced to the final round with 50 points, which is the perfect score for the judges. Kang Ji-hoon (48 points) and Kim Min-kyu (47 points from Korea Gas Corporation) also showed off their brilliant momentum and made the final list.
The winner of each contest will receive a prize of 2 million won. The winner of the Dunk Contest Performance Award will receive 1 million won. The long-awaited final will be held during the main game of the All-Star Game at 2 p.m. on the 18th at the same place.
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*This content was translated by AI.
