Despite the three-game winning streak, Changwon LG head coach Cho Sang-hyun said he was “still disappointed.”
On Friday night at 7 p.m., LG won a 95-82 victory over Seoul Samsung in an away game in the 2023-24 regular season of the Korean Basketball Association 스포츠토토 at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul.
Even though it was a matchup of No. 2 LG and No. 9 Samsung, Cho was on high alert as he told reporters before the game, “They are a tricky team.” “I just told the players, ‘Let’s do what we’ve been doing,’” he explained. LG had defeated tricky opponents Seoul SK and Wonju DB last month after their five-game winning streak came to a halt. Solid defense and powerful offense have been LG’s trademarks this season.
LG’s offense shined in the first quarter. Of their 24 points in the first quarter, 14 came from fast breaks. This gave them a comfortable 10-point lead. Despite being outscored by Samsung in the second quarter, LG managed to keep the game close. With a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, coach Cho Sang-hyun pulled all of his starters with 4:40 left to celebrate the victory.
However, there was a hint of disappointment in his voice during the postgame press conference. “I’m grateful that the players played hard on a tough schedule, but I’m disappointed that the promised defense was broken,” Cho said. “I’m happy with the result, but I think it’s a work in progress, especially allowing 11 three-pointers. I think the players got loose as the score got closer, and that’s something we need to reflect on.”
LG scored 22 points on fast breaks alone. Before the game, head coach Cho Sang-hyun said, “We need to score 15 to 20 points on fast breaks,” and that’s exactly what happened. However, Cho reflected, “I think we should have scored more (fastbreak points), after all, LG’s colors come out in transition, but we forgot about it in the middle of the game.”
Last but not least, Cho had high hopes for Yang Hong-seok, who was named the game’s top scorer. “I think Yang Hong-seok can do better. He is still in the process of learning.” “It’s true that there is a burden of mismatches on defense by playing the 4, but to find a solution on offense, we need to harass the opponent’s big man more and find multiple offenses derived from Asem Marei,” he advised.
After the three-game road trip, LG will return home to face tough opponents in Busan KCC and Suwon KT. The matchup with KT is particularly interesting as they are battling with LG for second place. KT also beat Goyang Sono on the same day to pick up their 12th win. This is the backdrop for this home matchup.