Busan BNK, a women's professional basketball team that gained an advantage in winning its first regular league since its foundation, suffered a painful upset because it failed to score one of the two free throws it gained at the end. With three games left, rival Asan Woori Bank must miss at least once to achieve its dream of winning.
BNK lost 63-66 to Cheongju KB after an extended match at the 2024-25 Women's Professional Basketball Regular League home game at Sajik Gymnasium in Busan on the 10th.
BNK, which was trying to win its first regular league championship since its foundation in 2019, remained in second place (18 wins and 9 losses), one game behind the leader Woori Bank (19 wins and 8 losses).
BNK was even more shocked by missing the victory that they caught because of free throws.
BNK led 58-55 with Kim Sonia adding two points 37 seconds before the end of the fourth quarter, and Ahn Hye-ji got two free throws due to Lee Yun-mi's foul with 17 seconds left.
Even if Ahn Hye-ji scored one of the two free throws, the gap widened by four points, allowing her to win. BNK recorded a 75% success rate of team free throws on the day, but Ahn Hye-ji couldn't score a single goal because she felt pressured.
In the end, the failure of free throws, which could have sealed the victory, led to a painful team defeat.
After that, KB scored a three-point shot with two seconds left before the end to lead the game to extra time, and they won the game with momentum.
When the team was trailing 63-64 in overtime, BNK fouled to minimize KB's score with 16 seconds left before the end of the game, but its opponent Heo Ye-eun made both free throws. KB's success rate on the day was 100 percent.
◇ 1 loss or more
BNK, the youngest women's professional basketball club, has established itself as an emerging powerhouse.
After hovering at the bottom of the list since its inception, BNK ranked fourth in the 2021-22 season, making the playoffs for the first time. In the 2022-23 season, it ranked second and experienced the championship game. It slid to the bottom of the 2023-24 season, but this season, it is competing for the first regular league championship by strengthening its power.
In women's professional basketball, if the overall winning rate of the two teams is tied, the opponent's overall ranking is determined. If even this is the same, the opponent's goal difference is determined.
BNK is 3 wins and 3 losses with Woori Bank, but is 15 points ahead in the opponent's goal difference (BNK 369 points and Woori Bank 354 points).
If BNK had KB, it would have reduced the magic number of winning the regular league by itself to 3. And if it won all three of the remaining games, it would have been able to shoot a congratulatory shot for winning the regular league.
However, BNK, which was caught by KB, was at a disadvantage. If Woori Bank wins all the remaining games, BNK's come-from-behind victory is impossible. 온라인카지노
However, if Woori Bank suffers an unexpected blow like BNK, the two teams could have mixed feelings. Woori Bank meets fourth-ranked Shinhan Bank, which has a long way to go, on the 12th, and Woori Bank is slightly ahead of the season with 3 wins and 2 losses.