It’s not over until it’s over!’

The words of legendary catcher Yogi Berra, who wore 10 championship rings for the New York Yankees of the American Major League (MLB), are common in all sports. 

As the top 4 teams with only 2 games left each out of the 54 professional basketball regular league games show a difference of 1 game each, the last-minute competition to go directly to the semifinal playoffs (PO) is getting hotter.

Professional basketball Changwon LG overcame Suwon kt and continued their hopes of a ‘reversal championship’ in the regular league until the end of the season.

On the 25th, LG defeated kt 85-80 in the 2022-2023 SKT Adot Pro Basketball regular league away game held at Suwon kt Arena, Gyeonggi-do.

2nd place LG with 35 wins and 17 losses reduced the gap to Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation (36 wins and 16 losses), which had been in first place since the beginning of the season, to one game.

3rd place Seoul SK (34-18) is chasing 2nd place LG by 1 game, and 4th place Ulsan Hyundai Mobis (33-19) is also pressing 3rd place SK by 1 game. 

The 1st and 2nd place teams in the professional basketball regular league go directly to the PO of the 4th place, the 3rd place team will face off against the 6th place team and the 4th place team against the 5th place team in the 6th place PO, and a last-minute ticket competition will be held to receive a favorable ‘Spring Basketball’ bracket. fierce

Now, there is only one scenario in which the rankings of the two teams competing for the championship in the regular league change. LG’s victory with two games left, Ginseng Corporation’s defeat.

If Ginseng Corporation raises only one win and the number of multipliers reaches 37, LG will be pushed out of the points scored in the head-to-head match (3 wins, 3 losses), and Ginseng Corporation will rank higher.

Ginseng Corporation is facing a confrontation with 7th place Wonju DB at home on the 26th.

If it reverses dramatically, LG will win the regular league championship in 9 seasons after the 2013-2014 season.

At that time, Moon Tae-jong (retired), a shooter born to an American father and a Korean mother, was selected as the MVP of the regular league and led the club to its first ever regular league championship.

In the last 16 games, LG has 15 wins and 1 loss, and the gap with Seoul SK (34 wins, 18 losses), which is fiercely pursuing, has widened to 1 game again. The 2nd place receives the benefit of going directly to the 4th round PO without going through the 6th round playoff (PO).

On the other hand, 8th place kt (20-32), who had no chance of advancing to PO in arithmetic terms, suffered 5 consecutive losses, widening the gap with 7th place DB (22-30) by 2 games.

KT needs to recapture even 7th place so that it can be expected even in ‘what if’. If 5th place Goyang Carrot (27-25) fails to pay the remaining KRW 1 billion in special membership fee, which is equivalent to joining KBL, by the 31st of this month, the ticket to PO will be returned to 7th place.

In LG, Lee Jae-do threw 10 shots until the 2nd quarter, hit 8 and exploded 20 points.

LG, who led 51-42 in the first half, gave the team a double-digit lead as Lee Jae-do scored 7 more points within 5 minutes of the start of the 3rd quarter.

However, in the 4th quarter, while tied at 7 points in 5 minutes, kt burst into 3 points and 3 rooms and caught up with 15 points, and a close match unfolded at the last minute.

The player who came out as LG’s solver was Assem Marey. Maray, who suppressed kt’s pursuit by winning three offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, connected Lee Kwan-hee’s 3-point miss 2 minutes and 36 seconds before the end of the game with a footback score to create an 8-point gap.

1 minute and 30 seconds before the end, Lee Kwan-hee assisted Lee Kwan-hee’s fast break with a quick pass after rebounding, and the game was closed.

■ 5th place confirmed Carrot escaped 3 straight losses, Lawson scored 33 points and 10 rebounds Explosion

Carrot won 88-66 on the road and drove the lowest Seoul Samsung (13-39) to 6 consecutive losses.

Lawson, who injured his ankle in the match against kt on the 13th, returned, and Carrot escaped his three-game losing streak with a clear victory ahead of the PO.

However, it is not yet a ‘complete’ power as the main player Jeon Seong-hyun is currently absent after announcing that he was diagnosed with a damaged cochlea.

Lawson exploded with 33 points and 10 rebounds, and Lee Jung-hyun also recorded 19 points and 6 assists while crossing the inside and outside. Kim Gang-seon and Kim Jin-yong also added 13 and 11 points each, contributing to a 22-point victory.

■ One game difference between 7th place DB and 6th place KCC… Expectations for the last car of PO

DB continued their hopes for PO by defeating Daegu Korea Gas Corporation 84-83 at home with Lee Seon Albano’s dramatic 3 points at the end of the game. 메이저놀이터

DB, who had 5 consecutive wins, caught up with Jeonju KCC (23-29) in 6th place by one game. If KCC takes all the remaining 2 games and loses, DB will take the last train of the PO.

On the other hand, Korea Gas Corporation (17 wins, 34 losses) in 9th place, where ace Lee Dae-seong could not play due to injury, suffered 5 consecutive losses.

DB, who was dragged by 13 points at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, pursued with Kim Jong-gyu, who recorded 14 points and 6 rebounds in the second half only, and caught up to 81-82 a minute before the end of the game.

However, 16 seconds before the end, Albano broke through and hit the ball high toward the rim, but Devon Scott hit it in the air, and KOGAS seemed to solidify its victory.

However, Korea Gas Corporation’s Filipino player Sam Josef Belrangel missed 3 out of 4 free throws at the end, giving an excuse for a comeback.

Kim Jong-kyu scored 20 points and 10 rebounds from the bottom of the goal, and Albano, who scored 3 points in the final, took the lead in the victory with 18 points and 5 assists.