2012.1.27 Weekend Picks

KBL

* All-Star Game

* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

* Saturday, 1:15 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m.

The Korea Basketball League is celebrating its 15th anniversary at this year’s All-Star Game, packing in various events that will rock basketball fans for two days straight.

On Saturday, instead of the traditional Rookies’ All-Star Game, retired KBL stars will compete in a game, satisfying those fans nostalgic of the late 1990s.

There will also be qualification rounds for the dunk contest and skills challenge. Those who have photos taken with or autographs of former basketball players will be admitted for free.

The second day starts with an autograph session of 24 selected All-Star players, followed by the speed-shot and 3-point contests.

The main game starts at 2 p.m. with teams divided into the Magic (players from the Thunders, Knights, Elephants, KGC and Egis) and Dream teams (Promy, Sonicboom, Phoebus, Sakers and Orions).

The Dream has the top All-Star vote collector Yang Dong-geun, while the Magic lost Alexander Johnson and Ha Seung-jin due to injuries but will have Herbert Hill and Deshawn Sims as their replacements.

At halftime the league will present the finals of the skill challenge and dunk contest, while special 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 matches will be held as well.

Rookies Oh Se-keun and Choi Jin-soo will go head-to-head, while naturalized Korean brothers Lee Seung-joon and Lee Dong-joon will team up and play against Moon Tae-jong and Moon Tae-young.

V-League

* Seongnam Sangmu Shinhyup (2-20) at Daejeon Samsung Fire Bluefangs (19-3)

* Chungmu Gymnasium, Daejeon

* Saturday, 2 p.m.

In what looks to be a predictable match, Sangmu, the military team and last place in the standings, travels to Daejeon to face the league No. 1 Bluefangs.

Sangmu, currently suffering a 10-game losing streak, has officially filed a complaint to the Korean Volleyball Federation, requesting that other teams drop foreign players when playing against them, saying it’s unfair when the team can’t sign its own foreign players.

It will be interesting how they fare against the Bluefangs, who are riding on the back of Gavin Schmitt. The Canadian is averaging more than 34 points per match, the top scorer in the league.

The Bluefangs suffered its third loss of the season on Tuesday against second place Incheon Korean Air Jumbos and are hoping to bounce back.