Knights beat Anyang in first best-of-seven playoff match

Basketball

Published: 03 May. 2022, 15:22 Updated: 03 May. 2022, 18:03

Knights beat Anyang in first best-of-seven playoff match

Byun Jun-hyung of Anyang Korea Ginseng Corporation, right, dribbles past Kim Sun-hyung of the SK Seoul Knights at a match between Anyang KGC and SK Knights at Jamsil Students' Gymnasium in southern Seoul on Monday. [NEWS1]

The Seoul SK Knights won their first best-of-seven playoff match 90-79 against defending champions Anyang Korea Ginseng Corporation at home on Monday.

The Knights took a five point lead in the first quarter but Anyang kept close behind, closing that gap to a one point difference in the second quarter.

However, the Knights added 27 points in the third quarter and 21 points in the fourth quarter while Anyang added 21 and 17.

The win on Monday puts the Seoul Knights ahead of the race for the ultimate trophy. If they are able to get three more wins, they will win their first championship title in five years. The last time they won was in the 2017-18 season when they finished the regular season runners-up.

For Anyang, this is the second year in a row that they 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.

The Knights ended their 2021-2022 regular season on top of the table with 40 wins and 14 losses, three wins over runners-up Suwon KT Sonicboom. Anyang KGC finished their regular season in third with 32 wins and 22 losses.

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.

In the postseason playoffs, Anyang won all three matches in the first leg of the best-of-three playoffs 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 playoffs, the Knights faced Goyang 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 earned their spot in the championship series after beating Suwon KT Sonicboom 81-79 in the fourth game of the best-of-five playoffs on April 27. Anyang started the fourth match 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.

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.

Last year, Anyang 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.

Anyang will face the Knights for the second match of the championship series on Wednesday. The first two matches 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]