A big match was held in the EASL (East Asian Super League). ‘Flash Sun’ Kim Sun-hyung also did not hide his expectations for the match with ‘Linsanity’ Jeremy Lin.
The EASL 2023-2024 season will run from October 11 to March 10, 2024. Eight teams will be divided into two groups and play in the group stage in a home and away format, and the winner will be decided through the Final Four from March 8 to 10, 2024. In KBL, Anyang Cheong Kwan-Jang and Seoul SK, who advanced to the championship game last season, will participate.
This season, the P.League+ runner-up team New Taipei Kings will join in place of the Bay Area Dragons, who decided to suspend team operations. New Taipei is a team that recently attracted attention by recruiting NBA player Jeremy Lin.
Jeremy Lin is a Taiwanese-American and also holds Taiwanese nationality. He went undrafted in the NBA draft, but gained recognition through the summer league and debuted for the Golden State Warriors in the 2010-2011 season. He then quickly grew into a key player for the New York Knicks in the 2011-2012 season, playing an average of 26.9 minutes in 35 games.
Jeremy Lin’s growth continued thereafter. He played for the Houston Rockets, where he appeared in all 82 games in the 2012-2013 season, averaging 13.4 points, 3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in 32.2 minutes. On February 2, 2014, he recorded a triple-double (15 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists) against the Cleveland Cavaliers, proving that ‘Asian guards can also work in the NBA.’
Jeremy Lin was called ‘Linsanity’, a combination of the word INSANITY, which means madness, and also experienced a finals win in the 2018-2019 season while he was a member of the Toronto Raptors. After averaging 11.6 points and 4.3 assists in 480 NBA games, he continued his career in Asia, including with the Beijing Ducks, Guangzhou Long Lions, and Kaohsiung Seventeen Live Steelers.
SK and New Taipei, who are placed side by side in Group B, will face each other twice in the group stage. The match will be held on November 8 at New Taipei’s home, Xinjiang Gymnasium in Taiwan, and on January 31, 2024, at Jamsil Student Gymnasium. The matchup between guards Jeremy Lin and Kim Seon-hyung, both born in 1988, is already highly anticipated by EASL officials.
Kim Seon-hyung said, “I am also a huge fan of Jeremy Lin. Just being able to compete against each other is an honor. I think he is a player who left a mark in the NBA. As much as I have respect for him, I want to do my best to stick with him. I think it will be just as fun as playing against Jordan Clarkson. “Of course, it is important to win the match, but it is more important for the team to prepare well and win,” he said.
Cheong Kwan-Jang, who won the inaugural EASL championship, earned a total of $300,000, including $250,000 in prize money, allowances for participating in Champions Week, and allowances for winning the preliminary round. Although it is a competition with a large prize money, last season’s schedule was shortened and held in Japan as a cup competition, so the physical burden was less.안전놀이터
On the other hand, this season, the physical burden was even greater as the EASL home and away games had to be played concurrently with the KBL regular league schedule. In fact, SK must play a total of 7 games (6 regular league games, 1 EASL game) over 14 days from December 19 to January 1, 2024.
Regarding this, Kim Seon-hyung said, “Because this season is a home and away format, there will definitely be a physical burden in both leagues, but this is also a new challenge. If we control this part well, I think it will be an interesting season in many ways. “I’m looking forward to it as it’s a new challenge for me and the team,” he said.
We are very motivated as we only finished second last season. Kim Seon-hyung caught the attention of fans by shedding tears in the locker room after losing to Jeong Kwan-jang in the EASL final.
Kim Seon-hyung said, “It was my first time playing a game that left me with so much regret. If I had controlled my physical strength more, I would have won. I feel a lot of regret because it was a victory that I almost had a chance on. Of course, as much as there was some disappointment, it also served as motivation for this EASL. A total of 72 games were played last season (54 regular league games, 13 PO+championship games, and 5 EASL games). “There is nothing I can’t do this season,” he said, strengthening his resolve.
