Anyang KGC beat Suwon to reach KBL championship series

Cady Lalanne of Suwon KT Sonicboom, center, tries a shot against Anyang Korea Ginseng Corporation on Wednesday at Anyang Gymnasium in Anyang, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

Defending champion Anyang Korea Ginseng Corporation advanced to their second straight KBL championship series after beating Suwon KT Sonicboom 81-79 in the fourth game of the best-of-five playoff on Wednesday.

This is the second year in a row that Anyang have advanced to the championship series. If they win, they'll take their fourth title, having won in the 2011-12 season, the 2016-17 season and last year.

Anyang entered the showdown on Wednesday with a 2-1 lead over Suwon, having lost the opening game 89-86 to Suwon and then won two on the trot, 90-78 and 83-77.

On Wednesday, Cady Lalanne of Suwon scored the most points in the match, 25, but it wasn't enough to extend the series to a fifth game, with Anyang still leading by two points when the whistle blew in the last quarter.

Now that Anyang have earned a ticket to the championship series, they will be looking to defend their title.

Last season, Anyang took home the KBL championship title on May 9, winning the first four matches of the best-of-seven series against the 2020-21 regular season winner Jeonju.

Anyang last year became the first champion to be crowned in two years as the KBL decided in March 2020 to cancel the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs due to safety concerns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2021-22 KBL season started in October last year with 10 clubs — Anyang KGC, Changwon LG Sakers, Goyang Orion Orions, Jeonju KCC Egis, Seoul Samsung Thunders, Seoul SK Knights, Suwon KT Sonicboom, Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus, Wonju DB Promy and the newly renamed Daegu Kogas Pegasus — each playing 54 games, 27 at home and 27 away, in the regular season.

The 2021-22 regular season ended April 5, with the top six teams in order of their regular season standings — Seoul SK Knights, Suwon, Anyang, Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus, Goyang Orion Orions and Daegu Kogas Pegasus — advancing to the postseason.

Anyang finished the regular season in third place with 32 wins and 22 losses, then won all three matches in the first leg of the best-of-three playoff against sixth-place Daegu, 78-72, 79-61 and 93-86. In the other leg, fifth-place Goyang beat fourth-place Ulsan in all three matches, 87-83, 78-70, 89-81.

For the final round of the playoffs, Goyang faced the Knights while Anyang faced Suwon. The Knights secured their spot in the championship series after beating Goyang in three matches, 101-83, 91-83 and 86-81.

Anyang will face the Knights for the first match of the championship series on May 2. The first two matches will take place at the home of the Seoul SK Knights, Jamsil Students' Gymnasium in southern Seoul. The next two matches will take place at Anyang Gymnasium in Anyang, Gyeonggi.

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