Woori Won beat KB Stars to claim record 13th WKBL Championship title

Basketball

Published: 31 Mar. 2024, 12:20 Updated: 31 Mar. 2024, 15:24

Woori Won beat KB Stars to claim record 13th WKBL Championship title

Asan Woori Bank Woori Won players celebrate winning the 2023-24 WKBL Championship at Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium in Asan, South Chungcheong on Saturday. [NEWS1]

Asan Woori Bank Woori Won beat the Cheongju KB Stars 78-72 in the fourth game of the 2023-24 WKBL Championship series on Saturday, winning the best-of-five 3-1 and claiming their 13th championship title.

It was a fierce game at Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium in Asan, South Chungcheong as the KB Stars fought back to try and win the do-or-die game.

Woori Won took an early lead in the first quarter, 20-13, but the KB Stars tied the score at 31-31 with a dominant second quarter. Woori Won stepped up again to take the score to 51-47 in the third quarter, riding that momentum through the final stretch to take the game 78-72.

Saturday’s win marked Woori Won’s second consecutive championship victory, having won both the league and championship titles last year.

Woori Won ace Kim Dan-bi played a big part in the win this season. She recorded 24 points alone in Saturday’s game and won the championship MVP title for a second year in a row.

Asan Woori Bank Woori Won's Kim Dan-bi, center, prepares to shoot during a 2023-24 WKBL Championship game against Cheongju KB Stars at Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium in Asan, South Chungcheong on Saturday. [NEWS1]

“I still feel baffled, and it is incredible,” Kim said after the game. “I feel thankful that I was able to win after such tough training. When I first came to Woori Won, I thought I wanted to receive [the MVP award] just once. I didn’t think there would be an MVP award in my basketball career, but I've earned it twice. I feel thankful for my teammates and all those who cheered for me.”

Failing to win the championship this year would have made it a trophyless season for Woori Won, having finished the league as runners-up and ceded the title to the KB Stars.

Despite that disappointment, it was still a memorable campaign for head coach Wie Sung-woo, who became the first-ever head coach in WKBL history to record 300 wins in the middle of the season and also secured his eighth championship title.

“I don’t have any thoughts at the moment actually,” Wie said after the game. “Above all, this season was a really tough time. I have won [the championship] before, but this year’s victory felt most difficult but most delightful.

“This season was just difficult every day. We failed to win the league, but as we reached the playoffs, we talked a lot about stepping up the training. The players were well aware of why we were doing it, and I feel thankful for those who went through that tough training.”

Asan Woori Bank Woori Won players toss head coach Wie Sung-woo into the air after winning the 2023-24 WKBL Championship at Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium in Asan, South Chungcheong on Saturday. [NEWS1]

Wie has been the key to Woori Won’s dominance in the league since he took the helm in 2012, sweeping both the league and championship titles from 2012-13 through 2017-18.

A 13th WKBL Championship title extends Woori Won’s already remarkable dominance in the WKBL.

No other team has even reached the 10-title mark, with the Yong In Samsung Life Blue Minx and Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds having won the second-most championship titles, at six apiece.

As for the KB Stars, this year’s victory would have been their fifth hampionship title and first since 2022, when they thrashed the Asan side 3-0 in the series to take the title.

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