Professional basketball team Changwon LG defeated Daegu KOGAS in the first game of the KBL Cup competition ahead of the new season.
LG defeated KOGAS 97-85 in a Group B match of the 2023 MG Saekmaekgeum KBL Cup at Wolmyeong Gymnasium in Gunsan on Wednesday.
LG, which finished second in the regular season last season and advanced directly to the best-of-four playoffs before falling in three games to Seoul SK, started the new season's mock trial on a high note with all three of its foreign players (Asem Marei, Dante Cunningham, and Justin Gutang) from last season still healthy.
On the other hand, KOG, who finished ninth last season and prepared for the new season under acting head coach Kang Hyuk after the firing of Yoo Yoo-hoon, suffered their second straight defeat after losing to Busan KCC in the first round of the tournament.
In the tournament, two or three teams play in a group, and then the top four teams in each group play in a tournament to determine the winner.
In Group B, which consisted of LG, KCC, and Gasworks, LG and KCC won one game apiece, leaving them to face each other on the 13th, while Gasworks, with two losses, was eliminated.
With core guard Lee Jae-do and free agent forward Yang Hong-seok both out with injuries, LG took a slim 23-20 lead in the first quarter and ran away with the game for two more quarters.
With Gasworks tied at 20 points for more than two minutes early in the second quarter, LG opened up a double-digit lead behind the play of Cunningham and Gutang. A three-pointer by Gutang with 2:20 left made it 48-33, and the score was 54-47 at halftime.
In the third quarter, LG led 80-67, thanks to nine points from guard Yang Jun-seok, the No. 1 overall pick in last season's rookie draft, and never relinquished the lead.
LG's Jung Hee-jae had 18 points, Marei 16 points and seven rebounds, Cunningham 15 points, and Lee Kwan-hee 14 points. Rookie Yoo Yoo-sang, the third overall pick in the draft, added six points and two assists in his first game in an LG uniform.
For Gasworks, Anthony Moss led the way with 24 points and 13 rebounds. 토토사이트