[On-site interview] 'Not the No. 1 overall pick, nor an Asian Games gold medalist' Coach Choi Yoon-ah's affectionate gaze is on Kim Ji-young... "Wishing for her to grow beyond a team manager into a problem solver"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Choi Yoon-ah, head coach of the Incheon Shinhan Bank, revealed her deep affection for Kim Ji-young (28), a guard in her 11th professional season. She expressed hope that Kim would take another step forward, growing from a simple team manager into the team's go-to problem solver.

The Shinhan Bank, led by Coach Choi Yoon-ah, lost to Japan's Fujitsu 60-88 in the semifinals of the 2026 KB Kookmin Bank Park Shin-ja Cup held at Cheongju Gymnasium on the 10th.

In this tournament, the Shinhan Bank advanced to the semifinals as the second-place team in Group B with a record of three wins and one loss. Although they shared the same 3-1 record as Asan Woori Bank and Bucheon Hana Bank from the same group, they secured second place based on the tournament's tiebreaker criteria.

The Shinhan Bank reached the semifinals for the first time since the Park Shin-ja Cup was restructured into an international format in 2023, but they were unable to overcome the high barrier posed by defending champions Fujitsu.

The Shinhan Bank boasts many young talents who recently joined via the rookie draft as top overall picks. Hong Yu-sun and Lee Ga-hyun have donned the Shinhan Bank uniform, with Hong Yu-sun in particular contributing to the gold medal win for the Korean Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Lee Ga-hyun is also a player evaluated as the future of Korean women's basketball after going through the Yeon Ryeong-byeol (CEO) team.

In this year's rookie draft, Japanese-Korean Kaneda joined as the No. 1 overall pick. She was early on assessed as an immediate impact player.

The performance of young players also stood out in the match against Fujitsu. Hong Yu-sun recorded a team-high 12 points and nine rebounds, while Kaneda scored 10 points.

However, the player Coach Choi singled out as the one she most wanted to praise in this tournament was none other than Kim Ji-young.

There was a reason for this. After the game, Coach Choi said of Kim Ji-young, "She is a player I want to praise and encourage," adding, "I hope Kim Ji-young puts in more effort and plays well."

She then emphasized, "Until now, Kim Ji-young has taken on the role of a team manager. But she should not just stick to that role anymore. She needs to show her ability as a problem solver as well."

Kim Ji-young, who debuted in the professional league during the 2015-2016 season, went through Bucheon Hana Bank before transferring to the Shinhan Bank in 2023. She is a guard whose strengths are her explosive activity level and aggressive, bold playstyle.

Over the past three years, she has served as an energy booster for the team, but Coach Choi now expects Kim Ji-young to take on a role beyond that.

In the match against Fujitsu on this day, Kim Ji-young contributed on both offense and defense with eight points, two rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.

Coach Choi had previously designated Kim Ji-young as the team's point guard. As she will be responsible for coordinating the entire game and leading her teammates going forward, her sense of responsibility has grown even greater.

Coach Choi expressed her wish that "Kim Ji-young would break through this barrier."

Although the Shinhan Bank lost on this day, they had a clear gain. They led Fujitsu, who fielded 191cm tall forward Samantha Purin, in the rebounding battle with a count of 34-33.

Coach Choi evaluated, "Our rebounding has not been good until now, but on this day we grabbed as many as 13 offensive rebounds. That was a positive aspect."

She added, "There were positive aspects, but also areas that need to be supplemented and improved going forward," noting, "It was a meaningful game."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original