Wonju DB defeated Suwon KT 107-103 after an extended match at the 2023-24 professional basketball regular league home game held at Wonju Gymnasium in Gangwon Province on the 14th.
As a result, DB, which recently confirmed its seventh consecutive win, recorded 38 wins and 10 losses in the season, confirming the top spot in the regular league regardless of the results of the remaining six games and winning tickets to the semifinals of the playoffs.
DB’s regular league victory is the first in four years since the 2019-20 season. It is meaningful because it is the seventh win in the club’s career and the first win since the appointment of Kim Joo-sung, a former franchise star.
In particular, Kim Joo-sung-ho had a perfect season by winning the “wire to wire” championship, which has never lost the top spot since the start of the regular season.
On top of that, the team ranks second in wins at least during the regular season. DB, which confirmed its win after 48 games, matched Dongbu in the 2007-08 season. Dongbu ranked No. 1 in this category with 47 games during the 2011-12 season. Notably, DB (including its predecessor Dongbu) occupies all three teams, and Kim’s previous record was achieved when he was active.
Manager Kim Joo-sung also needs to discuss. Kim became the sixth head coach in the KBL history to lead his team to a regular league championship in his debut season.
DB, which remained in seventh place last season, appointed Kim Joo-sung, its team legend, as its official coach. Despite this, it did not have a good objective evaluation.
However, major players such as foreign player Didric Lawson, Lee Sun Albano, Kang Sang-jae, and Kim Jong-kyu maintained steady condition and succeeded in regaining the status of the strong team by transforming into a “unlosing team.”
Now the goal is to win the final.
To be honest, DB is a prestigious club that has accumulated 784 wins in total during the regular season, including its predecessor Wonju Narae and Wonju Dongbu, but has only won the title three times (2002-03, 2004-05, 2007-08). Notably, when it won the championship for the last time 16 years ago, the MVP of the championship was Kim Joo-sung, the current coach.
Since then, DB has advanced to the final four times, but it is expected to challenge V4 this season, which has had an overwhelming season and swallowed the division.