Anyang KGC, led by head coach Kim Sang-shik, has won 4 consecutive victories at the 42nd William Jones Cup being held in Taipei, Taiwan. The 2022-2023 season KBL unified champion KGC won 99-97 in the 7th match against the Taiwan B team held at Heping Gymnasium in Taipei on the 19th at 6pm (Korean time) and recorded the 6th win (1 loss). Korea currently ranks third alone, following the US (UC Irvine) and Taiwan A (6 wins).
In the first quarter, Goh Chan-hyeok’s 3-point fire blew up. Goh Chan-hyeok, who completely boosted his confidence as a 3-point shooter through this tournament, made a big success with 16 points by himself, including 4 3-point shots (6 attempts, 66.7% success rate) while playing for only 7 minutes and 22 seconds in the first quarter. Forward Jung Joon-won also performed well inside and outside with 8 points including 1 3-point shot. Taiwan’s B team, made up of young players, was full of spirit, but was clumsy. A team foul was committed after 7 minutes and 10 seconds in the first quarter, and the situation became more favorable for Korea. Koh Chan-hyeok attacked Taiwan with a 3-point shot and drive-in, and Jeong Jun-won also actively penetrated the bottom of the goal. The score was 32-23 with 1 minute and 35 seconds left. However, Taiwan pursued with a 3-point shot and under the goal, and the first quarter ended with a score of 32-30.
With the start of the 2nd quarter, the 3rd store in Hengkaichi, Taiwan, was opened and the charter turned around for a while. KGC used Dubon Maxwell to balance the post attack. The seesaw game continued until the end of the game. Taking advantage of Taiwan’s foul trouble, Jung Jun-won and Maxwell drew free throws by Foster Up, and both were successful. Then, 1 minute and 24 seconds before the end when it was 50-48, Kim Kyung-won succeeded in tip-in following an offensive rebound, and allowed Taiwan to score 2 points, but Jung Hyo-geun put in both fouls with 48 seconds left. The first half ended with a 54-50 lead. Team B in Taiwan also started the third quarter with Adam Hinton’s 3 points. Lin Sing-kwan then scored a post-up and made an extra free throw to turn the game around 56-54. KGC took advantage of the small lineup without Maxwell and Jeong Hyo-geun. However, Park Ji-hoon immediately balanced it by scoring an accurate 3 from the top. Maxwell was then put in to strengthen the defense under the goal.
When the bottom of the goal stabilized, Jeong Hyo-geun made a 3-point run. Jeong Hyo-geun scored all three 3-pointers in the middle of the quarter to give his team the lead. However, Taiwan B’s attack was also formidable. The seesaw game continued with the post-up and 3-point shot of Adam Hinton and Robert Hinton, who were of mixed race. KGC took the lead again when Maxwell’s mid-range jumper exploded 42 seconds before the end of the 73-73. Chen Mingxue gave away two free throws to tie the score again, but Maxwell put in a hot slam dunk with 2 seconds left to regain the lead by 2 points and entered the 4th quarter.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Taiwan actively utilized the post-ups of tall players such as Ma Chien-Hao and Chiang Chun. But the KGC was unfazed. At 9:06, Park Ji-hoon succeeded in a reverse layup and an additional free throw from under the goal, followed by Jeong Jun-won’s break through and Koh Chan-hyeok’s fast break, tying up two free throws to widen the lead to 86-82 with 6:50 remaining. 4 minutes and 27 seconds before they continued to lead 88-84, Jung Joon-won made a 3-point shot to make it 91-84. It was a daunting gap for Taiwanese team B, which was still less polished, to catch up. 안전놀이터 KGC, riding on the momentum, finally made a double-digit lead 94-84 with Jeong Hyo-geun, who had a no-mark chance at the top 3 minutes and 54 seconds ago, scoring 3 points.
Taiwan B tried to catch up with Robert Hinton’s 3 points with one minute left, but time was running out. With 17 seconds left, Maxwell made 99-91 with 1 of the 2 free throws he fouled. The match seemed to end as it was, but Taiwan B’s last minute fighting spirit shone. Mac En-Hao scored 3 points with 14 seconds left, followed by another 3 points 3 seconds before the end, leading to 97-99. But there was no time to make a reversal. In KGC, Koh Chan-hyeok and Maxwell scored 23 points, and Jung Joon-won (19 points, 2 3-point shots), Jung Hyo-geun (17 points, 7 rebounds) and Park Ji-hoon (11 points, 7 assists) also scored double digits.