Ahn Young-joon’s face was full of disappointment after missing out on the championship.
Seoul SK lost 69-72 to the Chiba Jets in the 2023-2024 East Asia Super League (EASL) Final Four on Tuesday (local time) at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines.
SK, the runner-up in last year’s inaugural event, was unable to lift the trophy this time around. However, they did earn the runner-up prize of $500,000 (approximately $660,000). 토토사이트 Chiba will receive $1 million (approximately KRW 1.3 billion) for the championship.
SK was led by Jamil Warney’s 22 points and 17 rebounds, while Ahn Young-joon and Leon Williams chipped in with 18 and 15 points, respectively, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss.
In the postgame press conference, Ahn’s face was full of disappointment. “It’s disappointing because we played our best, but we showed the strength of our team. I wish our shots would have gone in and made the game easier, but they didn’t. The Jets had a change of possession on defense and we weren’t focused. I think one or two misses made the difference in the game,” he reflected.
Chiba took the win thanks to Yuki Togashi’s excellent game coordination. Choi Won-hyun and Oh Jae-hyun took turns stopping Togashi, but it wasn’t enough. Togashi hit a game-winning three-pointer and two free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Togashi scored 22 points after the game.
“Choi Won-hyuk and Oh Jae-hyun took turns guarding him, but he shot so well that it was hard to stop him, and he was tough to defend,” Ahn said. “Togashi had good shots and passes. I thought Oh Jae-hyun did a good job blocking him, but when it was over, he had over 20 points. He’s a great player.”
Despite the loss, there were also benefits from the tournament. “There is something to be gained from the fact that the players faced players from other countries,” Ahn said, “I played with two or three mercenaries from other teams. The experience of marking foreign players in my position will be very helpful when I go to the KBL.”