Gwangju University considered withdrawing from the championship game, but overcame the odds to become champions.
Gwangju University finished the 2023 KUSF College Basketball U-League in fourth place with five wins and five losses. Their quarterfinal playoff opponent was No. 1 Suwon University. After a close game that went into overtime, the team defeated Suwon to advance to the championship game.
Gwangju University, which reached the championship for the second year in a row in fourth place, met second-ranked Busan National University. Given that Gwangju University had defeated Busan National University in the quarterfinal playoffs last year, it was hoping to be crowned champion.
However, Gwangju University was involved in a car accident near Changwon on the 12th while traveling from Gwangju to Busan. It was a five-vehicle accident.
On the 12th, Gwangju University, which had planned to hold court adaptation training at Busan National University, was unable to train because they were undergoing tests at a hospital.
The good news is that there were no major abnormalities except for one player who complained of dizziness. The match was able to proceed.
Before the championship match against Busan University on the 14th, Gwangju University head coach Kook Seon-kyung praised the players’ attitude, saying, “Just by showing the will to play, we have won the championship 안전놀이터.”
Was the car accident a spark? Gwangju University won the championship after never giving up the lead to Busan National University, which struggled from the beginning of the game.
When Yang Yoo-jung, who was named MVP, mentioned the car accident, she said, “The coach even asked me to abstain. We told each other that we had to play this game no matter what. I think the accident sparked us to play well.”
When Park Sae-byul, the captain of the team, said that she considered giving up the game, she said, “Our will was strong. We wanted to win this and make a drama out of it.” “I know we’ve been working so hard this season, but no matter how hard we worked, the results didn’t come. We narrowly missed the playoffs in fourth place, and we didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I knew I would regret it if I missed it, so I said, ‘Let’s take it easy even if we lose. I said, “Let’s take it easy, even if we lose, because I’ll regret it if we miss it.
“I only saw coach Kook Seon-kyung sitting on the bench before the game. Unlike the players who excitedly wait for the championship ceremony after the game, Kook stayed in his chair and attended the ceremony. It looked like he was having trouble walking after his car accident.
“It’s okay because I won the championship and went back to Gwangju,” he said.
Gwangju University made history by becoming the first team in the KU Basketball League to finish fourth in the regular season.