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Woori Won stars keen to maintain WKBL dominance after key player departures

Published: 29 Oct. 2024, 15:35 Updated: 29 Oct. 2024, 16:56

Asan Woori Bank Woori Won's Kim Dan-bi, right, poses with Natsuki Sunagawa during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at the team’s clubhouse in central Seoul on Oct. 23. [JOONGANG ILBO]

WKBL veteran Kim Dan-bi and Asia Quota pick Natsuki Sunagawa are keen to extend last season’s dominance of championship winners Asan Woori Bank Woori Won in the league this season in the absence of key players that left the team.

“Truly strong players overcome a crisis, and we are going to make it again,” Kim and Sunagawa said during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, at the team’s clubhouse in central Seoul on Oct. 23.

The comments come after Woori Won lost multiple players like Park Hye-jin and Park Ji-hyun, who led the team to the WKBL Championship title last season.

But small forward Kim still remains in the squad, with the addition of Sunagawa who joined the team through the Asia Quota — a system through which WKBL teams can add foreign players — adopted by the league in April ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. The WKBL’s Asia Quota only brought in Japanese players as it was launched through a contract with the Japanese women’s basketball league, the W League.

“A lot of players that won the title left the team, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Woori Won are defending champions,” Kim said. “I will give my absolute best on the court so that other teams can never look down on us. We will show them the true power of the champions.”

Kim, 34, has been a core part of Woori Won since joining the squad in 2022, after which she won the league and championship titles in 2023 and another championship title in March this year. She was also named MVP of the 2023-24 championship.

Asan Woori Bank Woori Won's Kim Dan-bi, center, prepares to shoot during a 2023-24 WKBL Championship game against Cheongju KB Stars at Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium in Asan, South Chungcheong on March 30. [NEWS1]

Sunagawa, meanwhile, has pace that she capitalizes on effectively.

“Natsuki sufficiently fills in roles left by former players,” Kim said. “Once she adapts to our team and Korean basketball, I think she and I can pull off great combination play.”

Sunagawa has already adapted to the intense training of head coach Wie Sung-woo thanks to the help of assistant coach Chun Joo-weon, who speaks Japanese.

“I heard before joining the team that training is extremely tough,” Sunagawa said. “But I was shocked after going through training for three hours both in the morning and afternoon. I got a cramp in my arm and picked up muscle pain the next day, even though I am a basketball player.

“I got scared when the head coached yelled at me, but he pointed out the factors I was lack of after all. I was able to improve in Korea under the head coach’s meticulous guidance.”

Winning this year’s championship would stretch Woori Won’s already remarkable dominance in the WKBL, where they have won the championship the most at 13 times.

No other team has even reached the 10-title mark, with the Yong In Samsung Life Blue Minx and Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds having won the second-most championship titles at six apiece.

“Sports feel more dramatic than dramas,” Kim said. “I will write a story on the combined success of Korea and Japan this season.”

The 2024-25 WKBL season already tipped off on Sunday, with Woori Won winning their first game against the S-Birds 76-64.

Woori Won next face Busan BNK Sum at Asan Yi Sunsin Gymnasium in Asan, South Chungcheong, on Nov. 2.

BY PI JOO-YOUNG [[email protected]]