“I want our rookie Yoo Yoo-sang to go to the All-Star Game. There are 24 people going, and I’m doing pull-ups. Please raise it a lot.”
Yang Hong-seok (26) of the Changwon LG Sakers added one more word to the postgame interview. He was trying to “sell” this season’s rookie, Yoo Yoo-sang (22), on voting for the All-Star Game.
LG defeated the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus 88-80 in the third round of the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball Association (KBA) at Dongcheon Gymnasium in Ulsan on Nov. 11. With the win, LG extended its winning streak to six games and improved its season record to 15-5 (0.750 winning percentage), moving within two games of first-place Wonju DB.
Asem Marei was the top scorer for LG with 22 points and 21 rebounds. However, it was Yang Hong-seok who made the most decisive play down the stretch. He played 26 minutes and six seconds on the night, scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds, including three three-pointers. He was one rebound short of a double-double, but it was an outstanding performance.
In the first quarter, he put some distance between himself and his opponent with an early bucket, and then contributed seven points in the second quarter. On defense, he was able to match up with foreign player Kebe Aluma and shut him down. LG head coach Cho Sang-hyun praised her, saying, “She did a good job defending Aluma in the second quarter.”
However, the decisive moment came at the end of the fourth quarter. Leading by as many as eight points at one point, LG chipped away at the deficit as Hyundai Mobis rookie Park Mubin made his mark on the offense, and a three-pointer by Lee Woo-seok and a basket by Prim eventually cut the deficit to 73-74. However, Yang Hong-seok immediately answered with a three-pointer of his own to lead the comeback, and then hit another outside shot for an 81-79 halftime lead. He even hit a wedge just before the end of the quarter to secure a dramatic victory for LG.
After the game, Yang Hong-seok said, “We played a tough game. Today is the last day of the Fondang Fondang game, and we were determined to win,” he said, adding, “The players played complacently. We still won because we finished well, but we had a lot of things to work on.”
In fact, Yang Hong-seok got into foul trouble at the end of the game, making it difficult for him to play his normal defense. Despite the situation, the LG bench continued to trust Yang Hong-seok until the end. Coach Cho said, “He can do it, but he hasn’t been doing it. I’m sure you can do better,” Cho said. In response, Yang Hong-seok said, “I think the coach is trying to inspire confidence by evaluating me like that,” and blamed himself, “I tried to play defense while I was tired, but it didn’t come out. I think it was a negative for the team.”
LG is showing no signs of slowing down in the battle for the top spot, picking up nine wins in the second round alone. In response, Yang Hong-seok said, “We’re doing so well right now. We caught all the top teams in the second round.” “It’s greedy to do better than we are now. I hope we don’t get injured and continue to have a harmonious atmosphere like now.”
Just before the end of the interview, Yang Hong-seok said he wanted to add one more thing: “I hope our rookie Yoo Yoo-sang will go to the All-Star Game.” Yoo is a guard from Yongin University and was selected by LG with the third overall pick in this year’s rookie draft. He has been called the best shooter in the collegiate league and has been the centerpiece of a lottery pick, and he has been performing well in the early part of the season. “He’s playing better defense than I thought he would. It’s not bad,” and “He has long arms, so he can cover players 3-4 centimeters taller than him.”
As of the end of the game, Yoo was ranked 25th in the 24-player All-Star Game voting with 61,485 votes. He was just three votes behind 24th-place Lee Dae-heon (Korea Gas Corp.). “I’m hanging on by a thread,” said Yang Hong-seok, who added, “Please raise it a lot. It’s my last All-Star Game before I go to the army, and I really want to go with Ki-sang.”
“(Yoo Yoo-sang) is especially good at rebounding, and he’s very good at shooting,” Yang said, explaining that his strength is his dedication. “I don’t have a single person who doesn’t like me, whether it’s the manager, the coaches, or the players. I hope I can become such a player in the future,” he said.