Jeong Kwan-jang challenges for his first win of the season against Sono.
Anyang CheongKwanJang Red Boosters will face Goyang Sono Skygunners in the 4th round of the 2023-2024 CheongKwanJang Professional Basketball Regular League at Goyang Sono Arena on the 17th.
Defending champion Cheong Kwan-jang finished the first half of the season in 7th place after a terrible injury nightmare. However, if they lose this day's game, they will lose 7th place to Sono.
Jeong Kwan-Jang was waiting for Daryl Monroe to return, but he left again due to injury. It is a situation where we need to find a replacement for Monroe.
Coach Kim Sang-sik said, "I wanted to stop him from participating in the All-Star Game, but he showed passion, but he felt something was wrong during training, so he went to the hospital and was diagnosed for 3 to 4 weeks. I was able to get a replacement, but I was going to wait, but when it happened in the first training, I couldn't express it." I can't do it. It's a difficult situation to wait now. We can't continue playing as one player, and there isn't much left in terms of the national team break. I can't say anything for the domestic players, but it will be really difficult. It seems like the players are overloaded, so it's time to make a decision. “I think it is,” he said.
Considering Munro's leadership, influence within the team, and contribution to the combined championship, it was President Cheong who waited for Munro's previous hiatus. But now it is no longer easy to wait.
Coach Kim said, "I feel like I want to wait again, but I already gave myself nearly a month to rest and heal. Then, I came in sick, but there's no guarantee that I'll be healthy again. I couldn't do this, but it's a moment where I have to make an important decision for the players. More than anyone else, I have to make an important decision." "It's disappointing for me, and it's also disappointing for me and the other players. There aren't many players who can play for only 3-4 weeks at this time. It's at the level of bringing in players who are taking a break at the end of the season and holding on temporarily, but that doesn't seem to be the case," he said.
During the break, Coach Kim spent special time with fans. In order to repay the fans who showed a lot of love, Director Kim arranged a meal and took the time to communicate with some of the fans.
Coach Kim said, "I am a coach, but I only send coffee trucks to the players in the off-season, but there were times when coffee trucks were sent to the manager and coaching staff as well. They sent me a lot of letters, so I received them several times and gave them a lot of encouragement. I am very grateful even though my grades are not good. He put up a placard and said, “I wanted to repay the fans because it was my first time experiencing something like this. I wanted to repay all the fans, but it wasn’t easy due to the circumstances, so I did it because I wanted to at least treat them to a meal. Even though there were many people injured and the situation was not good, they supported me and it touched my heart.” “I did it because of this. I’m really grateful. I feel like I want to do everything,” he said, expressing his gratitude.
Regarding the other injured players except Monroe, "I think Jeong Hyo-geun has about two weeks left. Kyung-won is unlikely to return within the season. Lens Abando was examined a few days ago and still needs to stabilize. Hyo-geun is unlikely to be able to come in. “He can come back in about 2-3 weeks, but it’s hard to guarantee for Abando and Gyeongwon. Abando was also diagnosed at 4 weeks, but it’s different from building a normal body. He wants to run quickly,” he said.
Since Monroe is missing, Robert Carter's role is bound to be important.
Coach Kim said, "I think my physical skills have improved a bit compared to before. Previously, my schedule was to play 8 games as soon as I arrived, but now I have given myself a little rest. However, if I play alone, the running time gets longer, so if I play a 2-on-2 game later, it will be difficult due to physical problems. There are many cases. You might ask me if I'm not playing too much defense, and I'm telling them to come out more actively because I'm having a hard time. They keep talking to me. I can't go out because I'm having a hard time, so I can't be too forceful. But they keep talking to me. “I pointed this out because they are players who are really good at 2-on-2,” he explained.