'Just one win to the championship,' BusanKCC head coach Lee Sang-min reflects on the 'historic comeback' with the words, "I naturally expected him to make it." [Busan]

*This content was translated by AI.

After a fierce battle at home, BusanKCC head coach Lee Sang-min, who secured a 100% chance of winning, vowed to lift the trophy in front of home fans.

On the 9th at 2 p.m., KCC defeated Goyang Sono in a home game at Sajik Indoor Gymnasium in Busan, winning 88-87 in the third game of the 2025-2026 LG Electronics Professional Basketball Championship Finals.

KCC held the lead until the final moments of the fourth quarter but faced a potential comeback loss after allowing a shot near the basket by Lee Jung-hyun with two seconds remaining. However, with one second left, a game-winning, game-tying free throw by Sean Long secured a thrilling comeback victory.

After the game, Coach Lee Sang-min said in a press conference, "It was a really tough game. If we had lost, it would have been truly difficult," letting out a sigh of relief.

Continuing, Coach Lee Sang-min said, "I should have taken Choi Jun-yong out immediately when he had three fouls, but since he said he was fine, I respected his decision. That was my operational mistake. They took many chances, and Im Dong-seop and Choi Seung-wook kept scoring steadily," while wiping his chest in relief.

He added, "If we had lost today, the team's morale would have dropped and it would have been tough, but Sean Long got us through a critical moment. Sean Long's free-throw condition wasn't very good, but I felt good (at the moment of the last free throw). He made both, and we crossed the 90th% threshold toward the championship," sharing his thoughts on the victory.

Regarding the final situation that decided the game, he expressed trust in his players. Coach Lee Sang-min said, "I naturally expected Sean Long to make it. I never thought he would miss." He explained, "During the timeout, we considered various plays like alley-oops, but the result came because Heo Hoon quickly passed the ball to the right spot, taking advantage of the momentary lapse by Knight."

Regarding captain Choi Jun-yong, who caused anxiety with his fifth foul and ejection, he said, "If you have strong competitiveness, something like that can happen. I know because I received many fifth-foul ejections during my playing days," smiling before adding, "On the contrary, thanks to being sent out with five fouls, he got a good rest. I hope he plays even harder tomorrow. Jang Jae-seok did a really great job filling Choi Jun-yong's spot," praising him.

When asked to name the player who showed the best performance during the three-game winning streak, he said, "It's hard to pick just one. Song Gyo-chang effectively defended Kemba in the first and second games, and Heo Hoon provided great help in leading the offense. Heo Woong and Sean Long, who were criticized for weak defense, have been defending very hard against Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Jae-do, and Kemba in this series. In my heart, all five are the best players," he praised.

KCC now needs just one win to reach the pinnacle of becoming the first champion from a sixth-place regular-season team. Coach Lee Sang-min said, "The players must have shed a lot of fatigue with today's win. I heard that Busan has never held a trophy before, so we will prepare well to steadily build a lead from the start of the fourth game and definitely win in front of our home fans."

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*This content was translated by AI.