Woori Bank’s Kim Dan-bi has achieved the feat of scoring 30 points in three consecutive games for the first time in the Korean women’s professional basketball league. However, Woori Bank coach Wi Sung-woo couldn’t keep smiling. No player but Kim Dan-bi scored 10 points or higher in two consecutive games. “I was too focused on Kim. I don’t think it’s right,” Wi Sung-woo said, stressing the need for improvement.
Kim Dan-bi took the lead in a 73-65 come-from-behind victory by pouring 30 points into the “Hana Bank 2024-2025 Women’s Professional Basketball” Samsung Life Insurance match held at Yi Sun-shin Gymnasium in Asan on the 4th. Kim Dan-bi did not stop scoring unrivaled after 34 points against Shinhan Bank (76:64 wins) on October 28 and 34 points against BNK (54:70 losses) on the 2nd. He is the first Korean player to score 30 points in three consecutive games since the WKBL was reorganized into a single league in 2007. Including the days when it was played as a summer league and a winter league in the past, it is the third in history after Jeong Seon-min (then Shinsegae) in the winter of 1999 and summer of 2001.
Unexpectedly, Woori ended up playing “Kim Dan-bi basketball all at once.” Coach Wi Sung-woo also complimented, saying, “We have a strong dependence on Kim Dan-bi.” Woori won the championship game last season, but suffered severe bleeding during the stove league. Four key players left the team. They missed out on all of the FA Park Hye-jin (BNK), Choi Yi-sam (Shinhan Bank) and Na Yoon-jeong (KB). Park Ji-hyun is playing in the New Zealand League as she is seeking to advance overseas. She recruited Shim Sung-young and Park Hye-mi as a free agent, and her compensation player Han Um-ji and Kim Ye-jin came, but it is true that she has less weight compared to the winning members.
Except for Kim Dan-bi, almost all players have changed roles from backup to mainstay. “Players who used to play as six-men are now ranked as the best five, and they play like six-men. I’m not a six-man here. I know it’s hard, but I need to get better and grow,” coach Wi Sung-woo said.
Kim Dan-bi has many drawbacks in the long run. Kim Dan-bi cannot score 30 points throughout the entire season. Coach Wi Sung-woo said, “You can’t play basketball like that. What if you get injured? I told players not to look for Dan-bi. In the BNK match, players look for Kim Dan-bi first if they catch a ball. Even if you fail, you have to gain experience by bumping into each other, and if you don’t try, you won’t have a chance to grow.” 안전놀이터
Was coach Wi Sung-woo’s strong call successful? In the match against Samsung Life Insurance, players were evenly and actively engaged. “Players now seem to have come to their senses a little bit. I am worried because they came forward to do their best at a time when the team was having a hard time, but I am really grateful,” Wi Sung-woo said. “Our young players may be fooled in a way by the competitors’ older players, but I think we learn from them as well.” We need to go further. “I think even 30 points is a little too much. If the team continues to develop to fill in the remaining players with 20 points, it will be worth a try,” Wi said.
Kim said he does not feel the burden of responsibility at all. “This is my 18th season in the professional league, and there was no season where every game was tough,” Kim said, adding that the current situation is not particularly difficult. “I had the obsession to show them, what if I can’t show them, what if I can’t, what if I can win, I have to win,” Kim said. “Now, I am thinking about how to play a better game with my younger brothers than winning. If there is anything more difficult about it, it is that my recovery has slowed down a little bit due to old age.”