"KCC's three-game losing streak": Head coach Lee Sang-min sighs, "We were stuck at 59 points for too long; I think the feeling of being chased made us rush"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

"It is regrettable that we were stuck at 59 points for too long."

Busan KCC Head coach Lee Sang-min (54) swallowed deep regret over a painful comeback loss and a three-game losing streak.

On the 18th, in an away game against Anyang Jeonggwanjang in Round 1 of the 2026-2027 KCC Pro Basketball season held at Anyang Jeonggwanjang Arena, KCC suffered a comeback loss with a score of 74-81. According to the box score, KCC led for as long as 22 minutes and 52 seconds and even built a nine-point lead, but they blew it.

With this defeat, KCC fell into a three-game losing streak. On the other hand, home team Jeonggwanjang extended their home winning streak to 12 games and continued an unstoppable four-game winning streak. Although Lewis King recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Heo Hoon contributed 13 points and 7 assists in a valiant effort for KCC, the team was held back by 15 turnovers that poured out.

Meeting with reporters after the game, Head coach Lee Sang-min said, "It was a difficult game and we fought well, but it is a bit regrettable," adding, "We prepared in our own way for the opponent's press defense, but being stuck at 59 points was the disappointing part of today's game."

He continued, "What we prepared often led to turnovers when viewed from the outside. It seems we need to supplement this point in the next game," adding, "Except for the opening game, I feel regretful after every game thinking, 'If we had done just a little better, wouldn't we have won?' Next time, we will prepare a bit more and play a game that satisfies us with the result."

Regarding the fatal 59-point stagnation period, he pointed to psychological impatience as the cause. Head coach Lee said, "While being pushed by the opponent's press defense is one factor, playing somewhat stagnant one-on-one basketball or having pattern plays tightly defended made things not flow smoothly. As a result, we became rushed. I think that even while leading, we felt like we were being chased and our minds became impatient."

As pointed out by Head coach Lee Sang-min, KCC, which led 45-36 through the first half, was held back by a fatal scoring stagnation in the latter part of the game. With Yoon Gi-chan's successful three-point shot with 3 minutes and 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter, KCC took a 59-54 lead, but after that, they were stuck at "59 points" without scoring a single point for about 4 minutes and 30 seconds until the early part of the fourth quarter. During that time, three turnovers poured out, and Jeonggwanjang tied the game at 59-59, then surrendered a comeback three-pointer just over one minute after the start of the fourth quarter, completely losing control of the game.

Regarding the background of using Lewis King instead of Sean Long in the fourth quarter, he explained, "If Sean comes in, he has to play together with (Jang) Jae-seok, but since Jae-seok's help defense gets tightened, we put Lewis in to solve the offense a bit more smoothly. However, even when Lewis got the ball, the defense was tightened a lot. Since he is aware of the timing of kick-out passes himself, it seems we need to adjust the timing as we continue playing games."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original