Is it just bad luck or aging? Skynet’s Inje and Hansolemicon have been struggling.
Skynet Inje and Hansolemicon have been two of the dominant 3×3 teams in Korea for the past few years. In 2019, during Skynet’s 41-game winning streak, it was Hansolemicon that stopped them the hardest.
It was Hansolemicon’s Lee Seung-jun, Lee Dong-joon, Kim Chul, Lee Ji-joon, and Kim Dong-woo that always pushed Skynet Inje’s Kim Min-seop, Park Min-soo, Bang Deok-won, and Ha Do-hyun to the corner, and the rivalry between the two teams was the box office card of Korean 3×3.
This year, however, both teams have struggled. Skydown Inje has been runner-up in three consecutive tournaments, while Hansolemicon hasn’t reached the finals in three tournaments. In two of those tournaments, they were eliminated in the first round.
Regardless of the outcome, both teams have been playing poorly. Skynet’s struggle to reach the finals is evident in their lack of movement, and Hansolemicon’s ability to use the inside and outside effectively has come to an end after the retirement of Lee Dong-jun and the loss of Lee Seung-jun.
As for Skydive Inje, nothing seemed to be going wrong until earlier this year, when they won back-to-back titles in the first and second KXO Winter League. However, once the season started in earnest, the problems that had been hiding in the background came out like wildfire.
The absence of Kim Min-seop and Ha Do-hyun is proving fatal. Both players are currently suffering from back and ankle injuries.
Kim Min-seop, once a leading shooter for the men’s 3×3 national team, has been a disappointment as he hasn’t seen the court at all. He claims it’s the after-effects of a back injury, but his athleticism has diminished significantly in his mid-30s, and recently, players have been deliberately trying to use him as a matchup to attack him one-on-one. For Kim, it’s a matter of pride.
Ha Do-hyun, who suffered a torn ankle ligament at the Korea Tour Seoul in April, is also struggling. He has lost the fighting spirit he had 토토사이트 when he was selected for the men’s 3×3 national team last year. With the retirement of Bang Deok-won, the height of the game has been lowered, so the team needs Ha Do-hyun’s unselfish one-on-one play, even against foreign players. However, the current version of Ha Do-hyun is circling the perimeter, making it easier for opposing defenses with ineffective attacks and ineffective post-ups.
With even newcomer Noh Seung-jun failing to live up to expectations, it’s hard to see Skynet Inje making much of a run this season unless a dramatic change is made.
“There is an aftermath of injuries, but it’s all excuses. We lacked preparation. We won the first and second rounds of the KXO Winter League back-to-back, so I think we were caught off guard. “It’s natural for a team’s performance to decline over time and for stronger teams to replace us. But it’s hard to accept a scratch on our pride because of our lack of preparation. We will show a different side starting from the KXO Seoul Tour this week,” he said, noting that it won’t be an easy end to the season.
Hansolemicon is off to its worst start to a season in its history.
Having failed to qualify twice in three tournaments this year, Hansolemicon’s recent performance has been awkward. With the departure of Lee Dong-joon, Seok Jong-tae, and Lee Hyun-seung, Hansolemicon has been left with a gaping hole in its roster, and recently lost Lee Seung-joon to Romania, leaving the team to compete with Kim Chul, Lee Jong-joon, Kim Dong-woo, and Seo Moon-se-chan. Park Jin-soo, the 2019 men’s 3×3 national team member, is on the team, but he won’t be able to join until June due to his basketball class schedule.
Even if Lee Seung-jun and Park Jin-soo join the team in June, it is difficult to guarantee their performance because they are seniors in their 30s and 40s. In recent years, younger players have been entering the 3×3 scene, showing a difference in athleticism from their elders.
It is also a concern for Hansolemicon, which ambitiously signed Seo Moon-se-chan from Hanyang University ahead of this season, but has yet to see much synergy. Seo is supposed to shake up opponents with a lot of activity on the perimeter, but he hasn’t made a big impact yet because the team’s defense has been shaky. In addition, Seo hasn’t been able to improve his outside shooting.
Hansolemicon’s Kim Chul said, “I’ve been hearing a lot of worries about our team lately. I’ve been hearing a lot of stories about the aging of our main players and the sluggishness of our scorer. We’ve been listening carefully. It’s something we’re aware of internally, and we haven’t gotten back on track yet because we’ve had a lot of bad luck with players going down,” he said.
“First of all, we are doing a lot of research to bring in more good players. And inside the team, CEO Kim Jung-wook is doing a lot to keep the good atmosphere going, so the players are also gaining strength. In June, I think Lee Seung-jun and Park Jin-soo will be able to join the team, and the chemistry with Seo Moon Se-chan will be better. It’s true that the players themselves are in a down mood, but we will overcome it and show the original Hansolemicon soon,” he said, predicting a rebound.
Whether Skydive Inje and Hansolemicon, who once bisected the Korean 3×3 scene, will be able to rebound, or whether they are on the road to aging decline, will be seen in their remaining matches.