Basketball siblings go head-to-head

Sibling rivalry will be at the forefront of the game between the LG Sakers and the ET Land Elephants on Sunday. In what’s being dubbed as the Battle of the Moon’s, Moon Tae-jong and Tae-young hope to lead their respective teams to victory in Changwon, South Gyeongsang.

Tae-young (Gregory Stevenson), 32, of the LG Sakers is currently in his second year in the KBL and led the league in scoring in his rookie season with 21.9 points per game. Tae-young was drafted along with other notable players like Jeon Tae-poong of the KCC Egis and Lee Seung-joon of the Samsung Thunders in the 2009 KBL half-Korean draft, while his older brother Tae-jong was the lone ethnic Korean drafted this year.

His older brother Tae-jong (Jarod Stevenson), 35, of the ET Land Elephants is a rookie shooting guard who is averaging 17.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Sunday’s game will be the first time the two brothers have faced off against each other at the professional level.

“I’m looking forward to competing against my brother,” said Tae-jong. “I don’t recall losing against him in one-on-one games growing up. My teammates and I will come out on top.”

The younger sibling sounded just as confident about his prospects.

“The only way I can feel like a winner is if my team wins the game,” Tae-young said. “Of course, if I get into a one-on-one situation with my brother, I will win.”

Both brothers played collegiate basketball at the University of Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Conference. They are the only siblings to be selected to the All-Colonial Athletic Association’s first team.

Six games into the season, Tae-jong is playing better. His 17.7 points per game is fifth best in the league but more importantly, most of his points have come in the crucial third and fourth quarters.

With Tae-jong’s help, the Elephants are currently on a five-game winning streak and are currently tied for the best record in the league (5-1) with the KT Sonic Boom.

Tae-young, on the other hand, has been the focal point of opposing defenders this season. Despite leading the league in scoring last season, he is currently averaging 16.5 points per game, which is eighth best in the league. Tae-young is ahead of his older brother in rebounds, with 7.7 per game.

Since Tae-young is a small forward and Tae-jong is a shooting guard, the two players are not expected to clash much in Sunday’s game.

But with both players playing an integral part of their team’s offense, the outcome will likely come down to how well they perform.

By Kim Jong-ryok, Jason Kim [jason@joongang.co.kr]