"I was negligent in my preparation," Coach Lee Sang-min self-blames... Concedes complete defeat to "former Su-Ko" Coach Lee Gyu-seop [Busan on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Coach Lee Sang-min of Busan KCC, whose winning streak was halted, reflected on the defeat, attributing the cause to his insufficient defensive preparation.

KCC lost to Wonju DB 79-85 in a home game during the 2026-2027 KCC Pro Basketball regular season held at Busan Sajik Indoor Gymnasium at 2 p.m. on the 10th.

After suffering a setback following two consecutive wins, KCC's season record stood at 2 wins and 2 losses.

On this day, KCC saw Heo Hoon record a double-double with 22 points and 10 assists, and Jang Jae-seok fight hard in the paint with 15 points, but ultimately failed to turn the game around amid the misfortune of Lewis King (18 points) being ejected for five fouls in the middle of the fourth quarter.

In a post-game press conference, Coach Lee Sang-min summarized, "The quality of play was not very good. However, I am pleased that the players did not give up until the end and kept up well." He added, "It was a game where we could have fallen far behind and lost by a large margin, but I will take meaning in having chased them down to the very end."

He cleanly conceded defeat in the strategic battle against Coach Lee Gyu-seop, who had been his former disciple and teammate. Coach Lee Sang-min said, "Coach Lee Gyu-seop has really prepared well. He has mainly used switch defense until now, but this time he did not use it. He only switched in big-on-big situations." He continued, "We discussed such matters before the game as well, but I think I was negligent in my preparation and did not prepare properly," blaming himself.

The failure to control the opponent's fast breaks, which had been the biggest concern even before the game, was also cited as a cause of defeat. Coach Lee Sang-min stated, "We were playing well in the first half, and DB's outside shooting was not good initially either. However, we gave Kim Bo-bae several easy points in fast-break situations, and we also got hit by Lee Yong-woo." He pointed out, "In transition situations, we allowed nearly 20 points in the first half alone. We allowed six fast breaks and even took outside shots."

He further explained, "Actually, DB's offensive power was not very good either, but they contained Sean Long well. Conversely, many chances came up on Jang Jae-seok's side, but it was my misjudgment to expect switch defense to come out."

Regarding the part where the team wavered during the game as their offense did not flow, he urged caution. Coach Lee Sang-min conveyed, "Because our offense was not smooth, the players got excited and even received technical fouls. We talked in the locker room so that such fouls do not occur going forward, and the player himself apologized for getting excited."

Without a moment to catch their breath, KCC faces Suwon KT at home on the 11th. Coach Lee Sang-min stated his resolve, "It is just one game and a part of the long 54-game race. The KT game is held immediately tomorrow, so there is no physical time for tactical training." He added, "We will strive to quickly identify problems and prepare through team meetings."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original