Wonju DB has clinched its first regular season title in four years and first under head coach Kim Joo-sung.
Wonju DB defeated Suwon KT 107-103 in overtime in a home game of the 2023-24 regular season at the Wonju General Gymnasium in Gangwon Province on Thursday.
With the win, DB, which secured its seventh consecutive victory, improved to 38-10 on the season and clinched the top spot in the regular season regardless of the outcome of its remaining six games, 먹튀검증 punching its ticket to the fourth round of the playoffs.
This is DB‘s first regular season title in four years since the 2019-20 season. It was the seventh title in the franchise’s history, and the first since the arrival of head coach Kim Joo-sung, a former franchise star.
Notably, Kim had a perfect season, winning the title wire-to-wire, never losing the top spot since the start of the regular season.
He also became the second player to win the regular season title with the fewest games played. Clinching the title after 48 games, DB tied the 2007-08 East title. The all-time leader in this category is the East’s 47 games in 2011-12. It is noteworthy that DB (including the former Eastern) holds all three titles, and the previous record was achieved during Kim’s active career.
We also have to mention Kim Joo-sung. Kim became the sixth head coach in KBL history to lead his team to the regular season title in his debut season as a head coach.
After finishing in seventh place last season, DB appointed legendary coach Kim Joo-sung as their new head coach, but objective evaluations were not favorable.
However, with foreign player Dedrick Lawson and key players such as Lee Sun Albano, Kang Sang-jae, and Kim Jong-kyu maintaining their form, the team transformed into a “team that won’t lose” and succeeded in regaining its status as a powerhouse.
Now the goal is to win the Final.
In fact, DB has the second-most regular-season wins (784) in history, including its predecessors Wonju Narae and Wonju East, but has only won the postseason three times (2002-03, 2004-05, and 2007-08). The last time it won the title 16 years ago, current coach Kim Joo-sung was the MVP of the championship game.
Since then, DB has reached the Finals four times, but has been unable to win a title and will be looking to challenge for V4 this season after a dominant season in which they swallowed a bunch of runs.