Professional basketball newcomers Goyang Sono fell to their second straight loss to open the season, delaying their inaugural victory.
The Sono fell short in the fourth quarter against Seoul SK of the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball Organization on Thursday at Sono Arena in Goyang, losing 79-90.
The first win of the new franchise, which took over from Day One Sports, which was suspended due to offseason financial difficulties, will have to wait.
“The players are fighting tooth and nail, just like last season,” said Sono coach Kim Seung-ki. But as you can see, it wasn’t enough.” “We were outplayed in every way. We kept up with them until the end, but our stamina dropped,” he said.
“It’s a process of getting better. We won’t be disappointed with the loss.”
It wasn’t easy, though, as the team responded with a number of cards, including an unorthodox trap defense to stop SK’s key Jamil Warney. Warney scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, dominating the Sono paint zone.
“The trap worked well, but we had a problem with Choi Hyun-min, who got five fouls, and we had some injuries. “We brought in Kim Min-wook with the assumption that Dedrick Lawson would be available, but he can’t defend, and it’s difficult for us on offense.”
Lawson, who led the offense for Sono’s predecessor Carot last season, was switched to the starting DB position in the offseason.
Carot’s management organization, Dayone Sports, came under fire for mismanagement, failing to pay players on time and delaying membership fees.
They were finally expelled after the season ended. With the future unclear, all off-season work came to a halt as the organization searched for a new buyer.
Most notably, they failed to re-sign Lawson. Plans to bring in a big domestic forward in free agency also fell through. Luckily, Sono came to the rescue and kept the club afloat.
“It was difficult to organize the team (in the offseason),” Kim said, “but next season will be better than this season. I’m sorry, but if we miss the playoffs this season, it will be the last time,” he said.
“The smaller players are going out there and killing it. We lost, but it was 안전놀이터 better than the last game, and the next game will be better. It’s hard, but we’ll try to get them back on their feet. They played hard.”
Sono is considered the underdog, along with Seoul’s Samsung and Daegu’s Korea Gas Corporation.
They will try to get their first win of the season against Samsung on April 27.