Captain Lee Kyung-eun credited her colleagues with the victory.
Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Bird won 43-35 in the fourth round match against Yongin Samsung Life Bloomings in the regular league of Woori Bank's Woori WON 2023-2024 women's professional basketball league at Yongin Gymnasium on the 15th.
On this day, Lee Kyung-eun scored eight points, three rebounds, and one assist, leading her team to victory as captain.
Shinhan Bank's Lee Kyung-eun said, "I'm glad that I won the first game of the second half of the year. I think I need to accumulate a lot of wins in the future. While preparing for the All-Star break, I prepared a lot for the rebound. The coaches and coaches also emphasized that a lot, so I thought it was important. I think I beat the rebound because I think those things came out of the court," he said.
Shinhan has prepared a new concept focusing on Kim Tae-yeon and Byun So-jeong in the off-season. However, the bank ended the first half of the season without realizing what it had prepared due to injuries that it suffered in succession in the early part of the season.
Lee Kyung-eun said, "Big men play such a big role in basketball, so having (Kim) Tae-yeon is a big help. I think I was able to win the rebound thanks to Tae-yeon. Thanks to Tae-yeon, I was able to grab the rebound, and being able to play various defense is psychologically stable. I think the stability I feel thanks to Tae-yeon came from the players' confidence and play," expressing her gratitude to Kim Tae-yeon.
Kim Tae-yeon faced a crisis by committing four fouls in the second quarter of the match. However, she was not sent off without additional fouls in the third and fourth quarters.
"I didn't know that Taeyeon committed four fouls until the second quarter. I had a bad performance in the beginning of the third quarter. I thought that if she collapses, she could collapse. However, the coach said it was dangerous in that area, but I think that Taeyeon's inclusion helped the team win," Lee said with a bold smile.
Shinhan Bank's Han Chae-jin, who announced his retirement at the end of last season, left the team, and Lee Kyung-eun became the team's captain and oldest.
"In the beginning of the season, it was very difficult. I could not balance myself as Chae-jin was absent and the injured kept coming out. I had to give confidence to young players, but it was so hard to lose the game. Still, I practiced and played games, thinking that I had to keep gaining from the game because I had to play anyway. Now that there are players (Kim) Ah-reum who will come back, I think she will be able to show better performances in the second half of the season," Lee said.
"As the captain, I told him not to be tired and to keep playing in the future. I practiced with the mindset of not doing what we can't do, but doing what we can do well and making him do what we can well. Still, winning the game gives me confidence, but it was difficult to drag him along, saying let's do it together." The coach and the coach must have had a hard time, but he tried a lot to make the atmosphere good. I gained strength in that regard, and I think I've been dragging him this far because the players followed me well thanks to the positive players," he added.
Shinhan Bank remains at the bottom with three wins and 14 losses. However, it chased fifth-ranked BNK and half-game car, heralding its role as a pepper shaker in the second half of the year.
Lee Kyung-eun said, "I think one win is more important than determining how different you are from someone. I think it's more important to show you a different and improved side than the first half. You have to be desperate to win games by accumulating a lot of wins. The coach says that Shinhan Bank should never lose and not show weak performance. Of course, that's true even if it's at the top, but I'll make you look nervous and afraid if the opponent fights."