Busan BNK women’s basketball head coach Park Jeong-jeong said, “We did a good job of showing our basketball,” but vowed to “develop a sixth man in addition to the top five through this tournament.”
The team cruised to an 87-44 victory over the Iranian national team in the first round of the 42nd William Jones Cup at Heping Gymnasium in Taipei, Taiwan on Friday afternoon.
“As we represented Korea, we felt we had to show a good performance with pride,” Park said in a postgame interview. “Today was a test of how we will play in the remaining games,” he added.
“I think the Taiwanese and Korean players have similar playing styles because of the close proximity between the two countries,” he said, adding that the Taiwanese players are definitely in better physical condition than our players.
“Taiwanese and Korean women’s basketball are going through a tough time globally, and I think that if we continue to make mutual efforts and exchanges, we will have a good synergy to develop each other,” he added.
“We tried to play our own basketball and not adapt to the opponent, and that part worked well,” Park said, but he also pointed out that “we wanted to develop more sixth men besides the existing top five, but it was disappointing that the players showed nervousness.”
“I think inexperienced players are bound to be nervous because it’s an international tournament,” he said, adding, “In the remaining four games, if we focus on what we promised each other, the tension will be resolved.”
“We emphasized the basics the most. “The goal is to win the championship, but I hope it will be a tournament where everyone can grow,” he said.
Chin, who moved to Korea from Taiwan in high school, started at center and played 17 minutes and 27 seconds.
He had six points and three rebounds before leaving the court with five fouls with 5:48 left in the third quarter.
“As soon as BNK qualified for the Jones Cup at the end of last season, I called my grandma and grandpa and told them to be ready to watch (their granddaughter’s) game,” Jinan said with a laugh.
Speaking about the performance of Jinan, who was ejected from the court in the third quarter, Park said, “Jinan is not satisfied. I think she wanted to do better,” to which Park replied, “Yes, she did.”
“I thought I could do something like this when I retire,” said Jinan, who was in charge of the team’s arrival in Taiwan and snacks, adding, “I don’t think being a guide would be bad.”
Park Jung-jeong, the head coach, agreed, saying, “Jin-an did a great job recommending not only the schedule but also Taiwanese food.” “I don’t think the players will suffer from the food,” he said.
BNK has four games left to play.
“I hope we can win all the remaining games, but I also hope we can return to Korea uninjured,” Jinan said. 파워볼