‘I will do what I do well’ KGC coach Kim Sang-sik’s consistency in the championship match, perseverance or stubbornness?

“We will do what we used to do well.”

The command towers of Anyang KGC and Seoul SK, who met ahead of the 5th game of the ‘2022-2023 SKT A-Dot Professional Basketball’ championship match (4 out of 7) at the Jamsil Student Gymnasium in Seoul on the 3rd, all looked tired. It deserves it. This is because they have overcome the tough difficulties of the playoffs and are in a tight match with 2 wins and 2 losses until the 4th game in the championship match.

In fact, in terms of ‘fatigue’, SK, which has been through the playoffs since the 6th round, will be worse. In any case, both team commanders and players were burning their will to win even when their stamina was almost exhausted. This is because if they win two more wins, they can win the long-awaited championship match. I tried to maintain my concentration by gathering my last fighting spirit.

However, KGC coach Kim Sang-sik and SK coach Jeon Hee-cheol had very different attitudes in the 5th game of the championship decision. This difference did not only appear in the 5th game. It can be said that it is a difference that has continued throughout the series since the first game. It is the difference in which methods are used to achieve victory.

SK coach Jeon Hee-cheol pursued constant ‘change’. After analyzing the data from the regular season, the current condition of opponent players, and the opponent’s main tactics, several countermeasures were presented differently each time. He mentioned the way he sometimes describes it as ‘anomaly’, sometimes as a ‘trick’, and sometimes as a ‘trap’. These are the results of contemplating how to effectively control KGC’s offense and defense, and how안전놀이터 to take advantage of SK’s strengths.

Of course, I don’t mean to use this openly throughout the game. It is said that it is used to confuse the opponent along with the basic tactics of attack and defense that SK is good at. Ahead of the 5th game, coach Jeon said, “The opponent must have prepared various things for us, but in that case, it is a great benefit to have this anomaly once or twice.”

Against this, KGC coach Kim Sang-shik seemed to be pursuing an ‘honest head-to-head match’. He said ahead of the 5th match, “Personally, I don’t prefer to adapt to the opponent’s anomalies. If we don’t, we could end up not doing well. We have to do what we were good at. It came out,” he said. It means to overcome with strength rather than change.

Of course, you can’t say which one is right and which one is wrong. It’s just a difference in philosophy about winning and basketball. But in the world of pros, these differences are clearly demonstrated in the results. SK covered its disadvantageous stamina and power with sharp custom tactics. KGC was unable to use its superiority in power at all, and either failed to respond to SK’s various operations or showed a delay. Key players such as Byun Jun-hyung, Moon Seong-gon and Park Ji-hoon fell into sluggishness side by side. In the end, Game 5 was 66-60. SK led the series with 3 wins and 2 losses.

It’s not that director Kim’s way of ‘I’ll do what I do well’ is wrong. However, even though the opponent’s sabotage or deception tactics are constantly changing, the strategy of constantly emphasizing ‘what I always do’ seems somewhat frustrating. The match isn’t over yet. If coach Kim wins the championship in this way, it can be evaluated as ‘perseverance’. However, if SK wins the championship in the end, it will not be perseverance.