Rebuilding DB Acid

Wonju DB’s 2023-2024 professional basketball season ended in the best-of-four playoffs (PO). DB was looking to win their first championship in 16 seasons, but they were swept by No. 5 seed Busan KCC and will have to wait for another chance. This season, however, DB accomplished something no one expected: winning the regular season wire-to-wire. It was an unexpected achievement for a team that was initially targeting a PO berth. With a regular season title and a four-way PO exit on their report card, let’s take a look back at DB’s 2023-2024 season in two parts: the achievements 바카라사이트 and the homework.

Before the start of this season, DB’s assessment of the team was ‘a team that can contend for the PO, but not win the title’. Coach Kim Joo-sung’s goal was also to reach the POs. However, DB never relinquished the top spot after the start of the season and won the regular season title in 48 games. This was the second-fastest record in history and DB’s first regular season title in six seasons. It was also the moment when the “DB Acid” was rebuilt.

Originally nicknamed DB Acid because of its strong defense, the rebuilt DB Acid was a team where the offense shone. DB led the league in scoring (89.9 points), two-point field goal percentage (57.0%), and three-point field goal percentage (37.5%).

This was thanks in large part to the performances of Ethan Albano, who was named the National Player of the Year, and Dedrick Lawson, who was named the Foreign Player of the Year. Albano averaged 15.9 points and 6.6 assists per game in the regular season, while Lawson added 21.8 points and 9.8 rebounds. The duo served as DB’s powerful one-two punch throughout the regular season, leading the way for DB’s dominance.

Captain Kang Sang-jae also had a career-high season with 14.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, while Kim Jong-kyu contributed 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocked shots on offense. The even performances of the main players allowed DB to have a strong offense.

The leadership of head coach Kim Joo-sung, in his debut season as a full-time head coach, was also excellent. As DB’s top franchise star, he succeeded in his mission of rebuilding DB Acid. He utilized the triple post as his core system, but he also showed that he didn’t rely solely on the triple post. There were issues with relying too heavily on Albano and Lawson, but a wire-to-wire title in his debut season is a commendable achievement.

Perhaps the most impressive feat of all was minimizing injuries. Last season, DB failed to advance to the POs due to a series of injuries to key players, but this season, the team had very few injuries to key players. Coach Kim Joo-sung said in an interview with this newspaper before the season, “We intensified physical fitness training and weight training to prevent injuries during the off-season,” and in the end, this injury prevention training played a big role in their regular season victory.