Daegu Korea Gas Corporation Pegasus lost 62-87 against Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus in the opening game of the 2023-2024 CheongKwanJang Professional Basketball Regular League held at Ulsan Dongcheon Gymnasium on the 21st.
KOGAS, which was anchored under the system of acting manager Kang Hyeok, faced a huge negative news in the form of Isaiah Hicks’ injury in the KBL Cup tournament. There was already a power leak due to missing internal free agents, so the gap left by Hicks was quite large.토스카지노 도메인
Assistant Manager Kang Hyeok’s debut as a professional coach as a foreign player was like a big ordeal. Korea Gas Corporation had a close battle with Hyundai Mobis in the first quarter and did well, but fell sharply from the second quarter. Regardless of attack or defense, their inferiority in power was clearly revealed.
Although the opening game was very traumatic, there was still a glimmer of hope. Sam Josef Belangel, who started as a starter, showed himself struggling in difficult times, scoring 20 points and 4 rebounds. He threw 11 field goals and succeeded in 9, so his efficiency was close to perfect.
Acting manager Kang Hyeok expressed his expectations before the game, saying, “(Sam Joseph) Belangel was in bad shape during the cup competition, but he is improving through practice. I asked Belangel to do the shaking part.”
Belangel repaid the director’s faith. He took an active role from the start of the game and attacked Hyundai Mobis with a high probability attack using a mix of floaters and mid-range jumpers. The driving force that enabled KOGAS to play the seesaw game in the early days was Belangel. Even in the third quarter, when the atmosphere was completely over, it was Belangel who worked hard to turn the tide.
Belangel, KBL’s first Philippine Asian quarter player, joined KOGAS with high expectations, but ended his debut season in disappointment after exposing several weaknesses. It is true that his team performance was also poor, so his presence was somewhat lower than that of other Asian quarter guards.
This season, his role increased with the transfer of Lee Dae-sung, and he showed signs of growth as he was given many roles starting from off-season practice games. The offense became much bolder than last season, and other areas, including defense, showed changes as well. In any case, Korea Gas Corporation is in need of a domestic player who can score points.
Acting manager Kang Hyeok praised Belangel after completing his difficult debut as head coach, saying, “At least Belangel did a good job. He was more proactive than last year and his defense and team play were much better.”
It is difficult to say that Korea Gas Corporation currently has solid backup resources to support Belangel. Until Kim Nak-hyun returns from Sangmu, Belangel has quite a bit to do. Otherwise, he will not be able to gain the strength to overcome the early coming winter.
KOGAS, which suffered a complete loss in the first game, returns home and faces LG on the 28th. Will Belangel continue the performance he showed in the opening game in the game against LG?
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