The Suwon KT Sonic Boom defeated the Seoul SK Knights to clinch third place in the regular season.
KT defeated SK 99-80 in the sixth round of the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball Association’s regular season at Jamsil Student Gymnasium on Friday.
With the win, KT clinched third place in the regular season. If they had lost to SK in this game, they would not have been able to secure the third spot in the regular season. However, KT went on a two-game winning streak and finished the regular season in third place. They also broke a bad trend of 4-5 in March.
SK, on the other hand, snapped a three-game losing streak with a convincing win in the S-Derby against Samsung in Seoul on March 23, but a loss on the same day would have increased their chances of finishing the regular season in fourth place. They have more losses than wins with four wins and five losses in nine games this month.
KT was led by Paris Bass with 41 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Heo Hoon with 23 points, two rebounds and three assists. Ha Yoon-ki also chipped in with double-digit points.
SK was led by Jamil Warney’s 24 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, but they lost Kim Hyung-bin to a five-foul ejection in the third quarter. They were also missing Ahn Young-joon, Oh Jae-hyun, Song Chang-yong, and Choi Boo-kyung due to injury. Choi Won-hyuk also played only five minutes due to an ankle injury.
KT pushed SK hard from the first quarter. Ha Yoon-ki opened the scoring, and 안전놀이터 Heo Hoon followed with back-to-back baskets. SK fought back with good shooting from Heo Il-young, but couldn’t close the gap. KT took a 28-19 lead.
In the second quarter, KT didn’t let up. The team scored the first seven points of the quarter to widen the gap, and when the lead narrowed to eight points, Jung Sung-woo and Bass scored three-pointers. Finally, Heo Hoon and Moon Sung-gon scored back-to-back baskets to end the half with KT leading 54-36.
KT took control in the third quarter. After SK pulled away with back-to-back three-pointers from Kim Sun-hyung and Kim Hyung-bin, Moon Sung-gon and Bass responded with three-pointers of their own. KT broke the 80-point mark at the end of the third quarter to seal the 80-58 victory. In the fourth quarter, KT rested most of its starters and rotated its lineup to complete the 19-point victory.