[Bucheon Field] A special reason for the Futures League runner-up title, Samsung Life... Confirming the growth and competition of young players, confidence has also been gained

*This content was translated by AI.

The Futures League runner-up title for Samsung Life this time left a meaning beyond simple results. It was an even more valuable result in that it confirmed the growth of young players who will need to contribute during the regular season.

Samsung Life lost 54-79 to Japan's Aranmare in the 2026 ticketLINK WKBL Futures League final held at Bucheon Indoor Gymnasium on the 6th.

Samsung Life, which had challenged for its first championship since the 2022-2023 season after a four-year gap, failed to clear the final hurdle. Although they advanced to the finals despite having insufficient recovery time after playing the semi-finals against Cheongju KB Stars the day before, they could not overcome the wall of Japan's W-League Aranmare.

The result was a runner-up finish. However, Samsung Life had something more important than the championship trophy.

The Futures League is a stage where players with few playing opportunities and young players gain real-game experience. Since Samsung Life currently does not have a deep roster, it is highly likely that the young players who performed well in this tournament will have to take on significant roles in the upcoming regular season as well.

In that sense, experiencing various situations by reaching the finals became a great asset. They faced Japanese teams that employed different tactics from Korean teams and possessed strong physicality. They learned not only how to handle situations when things went well but also how to cope when things did not go as planned.

Lee Mi-seon, coach of Samsung Life who led the team in this tournament, said, "I think the players have gained overall confidence and started competing with each other," and evaluated that "this experience will be a good asset for the players."

Internal competition heading into the regular season is expected to become even more intense. After the finals, Coach Lee Mi-seon said, "Ida-yeon, Choi Ye-seul, Lee Ye-na, and Yu Ha-eun are likely to compete," and added, "The players also know that opportunities have come their way and are trying hard. Through competition, playing time is expected to increase."

In fact, Choi Ye-seul showed excellent performance throughout the tournament and led Samsung Life to a runner-up finish. In the finals, she recorded 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. She contributed by engaging in fierce battles under the basket against Aranmare's "Senegalese special" Bay Kumba Diassan, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of this tournament.

Coach Lee Mi-seon also highly evaluated Choi Ye-seul's growth potential. He said, "Choi Ye-seul has good instincts and possesses the ability to score. However, her body is still weak," and added, "If she can build up her physicality, there is only upward progress left for her."

He further praised, "Choi Ye-seul is a player who enjoys playing basketball. If she builds her body well, she can grow even more."

Regarding the need to improve her physicality, he also shared his own experiences from his playing days. Coach Lee Mi-seon said, "When I was early in my playing career, I lacked strength, so I took protein supplements and did a lot of weight training. I continue to emphasize this to Ye-seul," and advised, "She needs to eat well, rest well, increase her muscle mass, and build strength."

He then confidently stated, "If she just builds up her strength, she can definitely make it into the top five."

Choi Ye-seul is a forward standing 180 cm tall. With her height and being born in 2006, she still has great growth potential. Choi Ye-seul, who is well aware of Coach Lee Mi-seon's expectations, also declared her determination to take another step forward.

Choi Ye-seul said, "I will focus on developing my aggressive side with confidence," and promised, "I will also eat a lot."

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*This content was translated by AI.