Woori Won, BNK, S-Birds and Blue Minx make it to the WKBL playoffs

An He-ji of Busan BNK Sum, right, in action during a WKBL game against Bucheon Hana 1Q at Bucheon Gymnasium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi on Monday. [NEWS1]

The 2022-23 WKBL Championship playoffs are set with league leaders Asan Woori Bank Woori Won facing the fourth-place Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds and runners-up Busan BNK Sum playing third-place Yongin Samsung Life Blue Minx.

The Woori Won secured the league title on Feb. 13 with five league games still remaining at the time.

The race for second to fourth place was competitive as the mid-table teams looked to play in the playoffs to determine the winner of the WKBL Championship.

BNK finished as runners-up after beating Bucheon Hana 1Q 83-76 at Bucheon Gymnasium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi on Monday.

The S-Birds and the Blue Minx were tied in third place, but the S-Birds lost to the league leaders on Wednesday, which put them in fourth, sending the Blue Minx up to third.

The Woori Won will face the S-Birds and BNK will play the Blue Minx in the playoffs, with the two winning teams landing in the championship.

The Woori Won has won the championship 11 times, more than any other teams in the playoffs. The S-Birds have lifted the trophy eight times, while the Blue Minx have won six times and the BNK once.

The most recent winners among the four teams are the Blue Minx, who won the title in the 2020-21 season. The Cheongju KB Stars won last season but failed to make it to the playoffs as they have struggled this season.

This season’s WKBL Championship is crucial for the Woori Won, because it is the Asan side’s chance to actually win the championship after missing out on a technicality in the 2019-20 season, when they led the league but the season was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first playoff game between the Woori Won and the S-Birds will take place at Yi Sun-sin Icerink Gymnasium in Asan, South Chungcheong on March 11.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]