After exploding for 30 points without committing a single mistake, Sam Josef Belangel (KOGAS), who had his best performance as a guard, said he values ‘0 mistakes’ more than 30 points.
Daegu KOGAS defeated Busan KCC 96-81 in an away game of the 2023-2024 regular season at Sajik Gymnasium in Busan on Friday afternoon.
The KCC took the lead early on as Vellangel exploded for 24 points and five assists in the first half, and at one point stretched the lead to 27 points before cruising to victory.
When asked after the game whether he would choose ’30 points’ or ‘no mistakes’, Vangel, who did not commit a single error on his way to 30 points and six assists, said, “The no mistake is more valuable because the team thinks it’s more important.”
The 30 points is the most in a single game for Vangel, who played in South Korea last season.
“I want to give this honor to my coach, without him, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this record,” he said, “especially because he helped me fine-tune my shooting during training yesterday.”
Kang Hyuk said that the day before, the acting head coach advised him to look at his shooting stance and shoot while in the air, rather than the traditional method of leaping to the peak height and only then swinging his arms.
The latter method makes it easier to transfer power, which helps to increase the distance of the shot.
With the “one-point” lesson, Belangel hit five 3-pointers on the day. His field goal percentage was a whopping 63%.
After graduating from the prestigious Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, Belangel headed straight to the KBL through the AsiaQuota program, where he averaged seven points and two assists in his debut season.
This season, with a coaching change from former head coach Yoo Yoo-hoon to Acting Head Coach Kang, who made a name for himself as a standout guard during his playing days, his numbers jumped to 13.1 points and 3.2 assists per game.
“The coach and my teammates trusted me a lot in the offseason,” he said. It’s like I’m repaying them with my performance,” he said.
He’s especially encouraged by the progress he’s made defensively since his college days in the Philippines.
“In the Philippines, one-on-one defense is the key to defensive tactics, but in the KBL, it’s all about supporting each other,” he said. “Team defense, from defending against players who don’t have the ball to helping defense, was my weakness. It was hard at first, but I’m happy to see that I’m improving,” he laughed.
The win was a valuable one for KOG, which lost a franchise-record 10 straight games, starting with an 80-84 loss to Samsung Electronics in Seoul late last month.
It was the second win of the season for KOGAS (10th-12th).
“I’m happy,” said a smiling Vellangel, “everyone did their best and it paid off. I want to celebrate the team’s victory first rather than evaluate my own play.” 토토사이트
