Busan BNK women’s professional basketball center Chin An, 27, is having a memorable international tournament.
Chin was born in Taiwan and naturalized in South Korea in 2013 while still in high school. The reason for her naturalization was basketball. When the Suwon Girls’ High School basketball team from South Korea traveled to Taiwan for training and friendly games, they invited her to play basketball in Korea. She came to South Korea by herself, became a naturalized citizen, and enrolled in Suwon Girls’ High School, where she learned to play basketball. Jinan is a big man with a powerful style that is rarely seen in Korean women’s basketball.
With a story like this, the 2023 William Jones Cup, currently underway in Taipei, Taiwan, is special for Jinan. BNK is representing South Korea in this year’s tournament as last season’s runner-up.
In their first game of the tournament on May 5, BNK cruised to an 87-44 victory over Iran. Jinan started at center against Iran and played 17 minutes, scoring six points and grabbing three rebounds. “As soon as BNK qualified for the Jones Cup at the end of last season, I called my grandmother and grandfather and told them to get ready to watch (their granddaughter) play,” Jinan said after the game 토토사이트.
When the team traveled to Taiwan to play a game, Jinan volunteered to be the team’s “guide.” “I think it’s not a bad idea to retire and be a guide,” Jinan laughed, as he took care of the team’s immigration formalities, restaurant recommendations, and snacks.
Jinan was ejected in the third quarter of the game against Iran, just as he was getting a little too motivated for the game in Taiwan. BNK head coach Park Jung-jeong said, “Jin-an is someone who is never satisfied. I think he wanted to do better,” Park said.
Speaking about his goals for the tournament, Park said, “We want to represent Korea and play with pride. The players were a bit nervous in the first game, but I think we showed our play well. Through this tournament, we will develop our sixth man in addition to our top five.”
BNK will compete for the title against six other teams, including the Iranian National Team, Taiwan, Japan’s Chanson Cosmetics, and the Philippines National Team. Taiwan has entered two teams: the national team, the A team, and the B team, which is made up of regular military-grade players. The tournament will last for nine days.