A new start is an indispensable story in professional basketball ahead of the opening.
Day One Sports, which was expelled from KBL due to financial problems, met with fans under the new name Goyang Sono, while KCC, which has been loved in Jeonju for 22 years, predicted the Busan era. 스포츠토토
How quickly both Sono and KCC take root can be seen as the topic of the 2023-2024 season.
Sono, who remains in Goyang City despite the hand gestures of other large cities, is easily supported by fans. Sono players' mindset is that they now want to repay the fans who even sent them lunch boxes and coffee in the harsh days when wages were overdue for nearly half a year.
Sono's "captain" Kim Kang-sun said, "The fans helped me a lot in a difficult time. We have to be a team that can impress more," he said.
Sono International, which acquired Day One Sports and re-founded it, is also determined to reach out to fans. A typical example is that Chairman Seo Jun-hyuk, the owner of the team, personally ordered remodeling of the home stadium, changing the VIP seats to regular seats and returning them to fans. In addition, the opening game against Wonju DB on the 22nd will be announced by children's fans and will create a new tradition in which children's fans enter each game holding the players' hands.
Lee Ki-wan, Sono's general manager, said, "All preparations for welcoming the fans are over. It's time for fans to enjoy happy basketball," he said.
KCC is in a position to reach Busan fans with a hot victory. It is possible because KCC boasts a brilliant enough power to be able to become a starting member only with national team players such as Heo Woong, Lee Seung-hyun, Choi Joon-yong, and Ra Gun-ah. KCC has already made a strong impression on Busan fans by winning the 2023 MG Saemaul Geumgo KBL Cup, a regular league rehearsal.
If KCC can bring "spring basketball" to Busan, it will be the first case since the 2020-2021 season. In 2001, when KCC moved from Daejeon to Jeonju, it also advanced to the playoffs in third place in the regular league. KCC is determined to go one step further and aim for an integrated championship. In previous cases, advancing to the championship game in the first year (SK in 2001) was the best performance. KCC ace Huh Woong said, "It is not common to be able to play as such a good member in my career. I want to take a chance," he said.