Park Ji-su named WKBL MVP for second straight year

Basketball

Published: 29 Mar. 2022, 16:13

Park Ji-su named WKBL MVP for second straight year

A Cheongju KB Stars mascot receives the MVP award on behalf of Park Ji-su at the 2021-22 Women's Professional Basketball Regular League Awards held at the 63 Convention Center in Yeouido, western Seoul on Monday. [YONHAP]

Park Ji-su of the KB Stars speaks in a video call during the 2021-22 Women's Professional Basketball Regular League Awards held at the 63 Convention Center in Yeouido, western Seoul on Monday. [YONHAP]

Park Ji-su of the Cheongju KB Stars won her second consecutive regular season MVP award on Monday at the 2021-22 Women's Professional Basketball Regular League Awards held at the 63 Convention Center in Yeouido, western Seoul.

Monday's award was not only Park's second consecutive MVP title, but also the third in the 23-year-old's career. Adding to that already impressive track record, this time Park managed to take the MVP title with a perfect 110 of 110 votes.

But Park was unable to attend the ceremony after testing positive for Covid-19.

"It’s a shame because I bought a pretty dress for the awards ceremony,” said Park. “To me, the MVP award was something to be proud of but a burden at the same time. Now, the award comes as some consolation for myself and the time that I had to endure and will have to endure in the future.”

Park tops the WKBL table for number of points, rebounds and assists this season. Park has an average of 21.19 points, 14.38 rebounds and 4.81 assists per match, leading the KB Stars to the top of the league and the regular season trophy.

The Cheongju KB Stars secured the WKBL 2021-22 season trophy in January with six games still left to play after beating Yongin Samsung Life Insurance on Jan 22 at home.

The KB Stars ended the season with 25 wins and five losses, but secured the title in just 24 games, becoming the first team since 2008 to lock in the top spot that quickly.

Asan Woori Bank hold the previous record of winning the title after just 25 games, winning 24 and only dropping one in the 2016-17 season, when teams each played 35 games in one season. The KB Stars have achieved this feat in a shorter season as this year the six clubs each play 30 games, facing each other six times in the regular season.

The KB Stars also set a new record for the club this season with a 14-game winning streak that ran from Nov. 28 last year to Jan. 22. The club's previous record was 13 consecutive wins in February of 2019.

Even after securing their season title, the KB Stars chased the Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds' 19 consecutive wins in the 2008-09 season and 2009-10 season, the most consecutive wins in women's basketball history.

But that attempt was cut short on Jan. 26, when Asan Woori Bank beat the Stars 79-74. The Stars lost two more games until they beat BNK 63-48 on March 19, then beat Hana 1Q 74-68 on March 21. The KB Stars lost their last game of the regular season to Shinhan Bank on Saturday 82-77.

Now that all regular season games have been played, the top four clubs advance to the postseason on Thursday.

The KB Stars will face the fourth-place Busan BNK Sum as the winner of the regular season, while runner-up Woori Bank will face Shinhan. The semifinals will be played in a best-of-three format.

The last two clubs standing will play the finals, which will be played in a best-of-five format.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]