Yesterday’s enemies met as comrades.
Park Ji-hyun (23, Woori Bank) and Lee So-hee (23, BNK), who competed in the women’s professional basketball championship match in the 2022-2023 season, teamed up in one team.
The two boarded side by side with 12 finalists for the 2023 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women’s Asian Cup held in Australia in June. He promised to do well in this competition, which also serves as a regional qualifier for the Paris Olympics.
Park Ji-hyun and Lee So-hee became one team as the WKBL Rising All-Star Team, made up of players under the age of 25, and played a match against the Japan Women’s Professional Basketball (WJBL) All-Star United Team in Tokyo, Japan on the 29th.크크크벳
Despite losing 84-89 unfortunately, Park Ji-hyun was awarded the MIP for his outstanding performance with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, the highest score among both teams. Lee So-hee contributed 9 points and 3 assists.
Born in 2000, they were the same age, and even at a young age, they were active as aces in their team and formed a rivalry throughout the season.
Lee So-hee said, “Ji-hyeon plays a lot in the national team, so she has her own role, but I’m the youngest line and I didn’t have time to play together.”
Park Ji-hyun said, “Since I was young, I’ve always been with Sohee in the national team, so it’s just comfortable.”
The two jointly placed 9th at the 2019 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup, where they competed together as the U19 national team in 2019. This is the best performance since 2009, when it was changed to an age-specific competition.
Park Ji-hyun said, “I can’t forget that time because the grades were good and the atmosphere was good.”
She said, “In fact, even the day before the Rising All-Star team was called up, the players who played at that time, the manager and the coach, went out to play and played games.” She continued, “She also decided on the slogan, U-19 Forever,” with a broad smile.
Still, both shook their heads when asked if they felt a sense of rivalry as players of the opposing team, who fought a bloody battle until the end of the season.
Lee So-hee said, “There are a lot of things to learn, but I don’t think I have to do well because I’m stimulated or a rival,” adding, “We have very different positions.”
Lee So-hee and Park Ji-hyun are classified as guards, but their actual roles are shooters and all-weather forwards, respectively, and there is a difference in the way they play the game.
Park Ji-hyun said, “I think it is a really unnecessary feeling to be stimulated by others doing well.
Lee So-hee said, “She only replied briefly with a ‘thank you’, but she was actually really grateful at that time.”
Lee So-hee’s team, BNK, advanced to the championship match for the first time since her founding, but lost the championship to Woori Bank without even winning a single match.
Lee So-hee said, “I thought about what more I could do, but after seeing the text sent by Ji-hyun and the men’s basketball Goyang Carrot doing well even in difficult situations, I thought that the feeling I felt was extravagance and made up my mind again.”
Park Ji-hyun said that she wanted to learn the detailed play of Kim Dan-bi, who was a team senior and won MVP in the regular league and championship match.,
He said, “My sister has a good ability to take out passes when the opponent’s defense comes in, and I think I can play better if I do this well.” Lee So-hee pointed out,
“To steal the timing of the opponent’s defense, we have to pretend to break through and then stop and increase the success rate of the jumper,” and pointed out, “Now I think we need to make more accurate attacks than unreasonable attacks.
” The 2023 FIBA Women’s Asian Cup team was named alongside the final 12 players in the final roster. In this competition, you have to place within 4th place to qualify for the final qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Park Ji-hyun, who has experience in the finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said, “On the international stage
, We have to do more to increase the popularity of women’s basketball,” he said.