Asan Asan Woori Bank head coach Lee Seung-woo has brought the playoffs (best-of-three best-of-five) series back to even. Woo applauded Park Ji-hyun for his triple-double, but warned against complacency, saying the team is still on the brink.
Woori Bank won 70-57 against Samsung Life Insurance of Yongin in the second round of the Woori WON 2023-24 Women’s Professional Basketball PO at Asan Yi Sunshin Gymnasium on Wednesday. After suffering a 56-60 defeat in Game 1, the team managed to even the series at one game apiece.
Woori needs two more wins to advance to the championship game. According to the WKBL, in the history of the best-of-five PO, the team that wins Game 2 after losing Game 1 has only had a 38.9 percent (7 times) chance of advancing to the championship game. That’s a worrisome record for Woori, especially since the team has failed to advance to the championship game on two occasions in the best-of-five system.
The silver lining is the resurgence of ‘ace’ Park Ji-hyun. After a disastrous Game 1 with six points and five fouls, he put on a one-man show with a 27-point, 11-rebound, 12-assist triple-double, the first triple-double of his PO career and the most points and assists in a single game.
“We have no choice but to believe in him now,” head coach Seung-Jang “Seung-Jang” Woo said of Park before the game, and he certainly repaid the faith.
Speaking to the media after the match, the coach said, “Let’s think of it as being on the edge of a cliff. There is definitely something that (Park) Ji-hyun has to do. We’re back to square one, and I think we have a better chance of winning because Park Ji-hyun came back to life,” he said. “Choi Yi-sam (10 points, seven rebounds) and Park Hye-jin (two points, two blocks) also did their part,” he added.
Wee wasn’t too worried about Park Hye-jin, who scored just two points in the game. “There are some things that are not perfect. I think Park took charge of the offense today, and Park Hye-jin did a good job on defense.”
With the series now tied at one, Wee said, “We’re going to Yongin. We will play with the mindset of starting the PO again. Some people want it to go to Game 5, but 안전놀이터 I hope not,” he said, adding, “We are still on the edge of the cliff.” “I think our hands are out in the open now. It’s a battle of concentration. From our point of view, it’s a great victory that Park Ji-hyun survived.”
Meanwhile, what did Wee think of Park Ji-hyun’s performance in the second game? “As soon as I saw her, I thought she would be fine today. In the first game, her speed was different. I wonder if there was a lot of pressure on her.” “I think this is the first time she’s shown this kind of body movement in the entire regular season. I was worried about him, but I think he woke up,” he said.