“On May 5th at 9:30 pm, we will be having a championship party.”
Seoul SK lost 70-81 in Game 3 of the 2022-23 SKT Adot Professional Basketball Championship against Anyang KGC held at Jamsil Student Gymnasium on April 29. It wasn’t just 1 loss. It was a loss that missed the opportunity to win in Jamsil and allowed the series lead for the first time.
In addition, even SK coach Jeon Hee-chul sighed, saying, “There is nothing more to take out,” and darkened the prospects for the upcoming fourth game. It was not a strange reaction to lose even though they came out with various methods such as modifying Kim Seon-hyung’s attack route.
The end of the 16-game winning streak from the 6th round of the regular league, and the 2nd consecutive loss. The damage itself was different from the normal 2 losses. SK seemed to collapse like this. At this time, a special message arrived to the athletes. The night after the third game, Jameel Warney suddenly became Nostradamus.
According to SK Interpreter Han Seong-soo, Warney sent a message after losing the third game, saying, “May 5th at 9:30 pm, we will be having a championship party.” One interpreter said, “The first message I got from Warnie was, ‘Do you need anything?’ He wanted to, but he was surprised when he suddenly heard that he would be having a championship party (laughs). He said, “It was fortunate that he seemed to be doing well in mind control, even though he must have regretted losing the 2nd and 3rd matches.”
It is known afterwards that Warney sent a message containing these contents to the coaches as well as to the players other than an interpreter. One interpreter said, “I think Warney needed motivation. As he has been with the current SK players for a long time, he felt the need for new motivation and sent such a message.”
For Warney’s words to become a reality, SK needs to win three straight games from the 4th game to the 6th game. It can be seen that Warney’s will to win was strong. And the start was good.
Game 4 went according to Warney’s will. As mentioned earlier, the former coach, who said he had nothing more to take out, cooked KGC with two cards: an irregular lineup and zone defense. Kim Seon-hyeong, Heo Il-yeong, and Warney, who had been running non-stop from the 6th to 4th rounds and the championship match, were put in from the middle of the 1st quarter and dominated the flow with a transition game after the zone defense. 크크크벳
Warney also flew. He recorded 28 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block shot, breaking through the defense of Omari Spellman, Daryl Monroe, and Oh Se-geun. Floater, who rarely entered the 2nd and 3rd games, also split the rim as if possessed.
In the end, SK won 100-91 after a slugfest against KGC, balancing the series record with 2 wins and 2 losses. Two wins remain before Warney’s prophecy becomes a reality.