Sam Josef Bellangel is showing remarkable growth over the season. It is one of the effects of NBA player Andrew Nicholson’s thorough self-management on the team.
The Korea Gas Corporation of Daegu is continuing its boom. The corporation beat Suwon KT 82-74 on Monday, securing its sixth consecutive win, the most since its foundation, and maintaining its sole lead in the 2024-2025 KCC professional basketball league.
Bellangel has displayed impressive performance. Bellangel had an average of 15.3 points, two 3-pointers and 6.1 assists and 1.4 steals in seven matches. In addition, he had only seven points in his game with Anyang Jeong Kwan-jang on June 30, and successfully scored double-digit points and made 3-pointers in all six other matches.
Vellangel had only two points in the first half against KT, but he scored eight points in the fourth quarter, contributing to the team’s come-from-behind victory by a 17-point margin. The final record was 12 points and eight assists.
His growth has been remarkable. Vellangel was the first Filipino player to sign with a KBL team in 2022, but he averaged just 0.8 three-pointers (27.9% success rate) with two assists during his debut season.
Starting last season, Bellangel has become the mainstay of Gas Corporation. He had 1.4 12.6 points and 3-pointers (34.3 percent success rate) with 3.8 assists. In the early days of this season, he is as good as a first-round MVP candidate. He ranked 12th in scoring and 4th in assists, taking the lead in the early days of this season.
“I feel like I have learned a lot from myself. I learned why I have to take care of my body so much from watching Nicholson. I have not skipped diet and weight training since the offseason. This is the first time that I have ever made such a body since I started playing basketball. I can see that he has a great passion for basketball and is getting more mature,” Kang said.
Nicholson is a veteran player who played 285 games in the NBA. He is a foreign player who has made great efforts and investments to maintain optimal physical condition, including arriving in Korea with a personal trainer when he returned to Korea Gas Corporation last season. “He is thorough in taking care of his physical condition. No matter how hard it is, he always does weight training and cares a lot about what he eats,” said Kang. “Korean players, including Bellangel, also learn a lot from Nicholson.”
Nicholson also felt the change in Bellangel. “He showed perfect changes from the offseason,” said Nicholson. “The biggest change is self-management. I stopped eating all the foods I like, and I eat protein that I haven’t eaten so far.” 메이저사이트
He showed humble reaction to the Nicholson effect. Nicholson said, “There are some parts where I copy how I take care of my body, but I also enjoy watching my teammates take care of my body and improve their performance. I am only doing my part. Managing my body is a basic attitude of a professional player. When my teammates put this into practice, I get along with them and put more energy into it.” There was a good reason for the stellar performance of Velangel due to the gust of the Gas Corporation in the early days of the season.