Seoul SK went with a double post. But it turned out to be the worst possible move for SK.
SK fell 69-72 to Chiba in the 2023-24 East Asian Super League (EASL) Final Four on Tuesday (Feb. 10) at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines.
This was SK’s third consecutive runner-up finish, following the 2019 TURIFIC 12 and 2023 Champions Week. Ziva, the inaugural champions of the 2017 SuperEight, the inaugural event of the EASL, once again reigned supreme in East Asia.
SK’s foreign players Jamil Warney and Leon Williams finished with 22 and 15 points, respectively. It was a disappointing performance for the team.
Unlike in the KBL, SK started Warney and Williams at the same time in the EASL. This is because the KBL only allows one foreign player, while the EASL allows two foreign players to play at the same time.
For SK, Warney and Williams maximized the team’s strength, as they were able to take over under the basket for the out-of-form Oh Se-geun and the injured Choi Buk-kyung. However, with Warney on the perimeter and Williams, who is past his prime, on the perimeter, the offense was unable to get going. Williams’ presence on the perimeter prevented Warney from finding space to get to the basket.
Williams’ offense under the basket was repeatedly blocked by his height. Her worst moment came midway through the first quarter when she grabbed an offensive rebound and failed to score on an easy shot opportunity due to her height. It would have been better to have Warney under the basket and Williams at the 3-point line. That would have maximized Warney’s ability to attack the basket.
Of course, in the third quarter, Warney scored quite a few points on floaters after aggressive penetration. Williams got an offensive rebound in the process and created a putback score. Outside of this time, though, they weren’t very disruptive overall.
In the end, SK was unable to maximize the offensive output of both players and was stuck at 69 points by the end of the fourth quarter. The strong defense kept Ziva’s offense in check as much as possible, but the lack of scoring kept them on their knees and in the runner-up spot.
