Inje’s victory parade has resumed. Inje has now won three consecutive tournaments.
In the final of the third round of the 2023 KXO League at the Hongcheon National Sports Centre in Hongcheon, Gangwon-do on the 22nd, Park Min-soo scored 12 points with four consecutive two-pointers at the start of the game, and Skydown Inje overcame Busan Clean Shot’s relentless pursuit to win 21-17 and win their third consecutive title.안전놀이터
It was a significant win for Inje. At the beginning of the year, the team suffered from a severe slump and hadn’t won a single tournament until June. However, after winning their first title of the year at the Korea Tour Yangsan event in June, the team showed that they were back on track by winning the Korea Tour Iksan event a week earlier.
However, in the KXO League, which was held until the second round this year, the team lost back-to-back championships to Hanwool E&C, and the task of ‘winning the KXO League’ remained. While Hanwool E&C, which had won back-to-back titles in the first and second rounds, was eliminated in the third round due to the combined absence of Bang Sung-yoon and Ryu Kyung-sik, Skydown Inje had a chance to win its first KXO League title this year against Busan Cleanshot.
Until last year, Busan Cleanshot was considered one of the underdogs. However, this year, the team has become a force to be reckoned with after Han Jung-cheol, Kim Jin-tae, Jung Sung-hoon, and Heo Yoon-seong have been steadily building up their organisation every round. In the quarter-finals of the third round, Busan Clean Shot defeated Hongcheon Effin, which belongs to Park Rae-hoon, and reached the final, but they were still unable to overcome the barrier of Inje.
Park Min-soo, who has been in peak shooting form of late, killed Busan Clean Shot’s spirits with a two-point fireworks display reminiscent of the 2018 3×3 Asia Cup against Iran. Park Min-soo, who hit three consecutive two-pointers to seal the victory against Iran, drained four two-pointers in just 50 seconds against the Busan Clean Shots, and the score quickly became 8-1.
Thanks to Park Min-soo’s performance, Skydive Inje took a big lead early on. In addition, the 2-on-2 play of Park Min-soo and Noh Seung-jun, who have been playing better lately, shone through. Noh Seung-jun continued his momentum by recording a block shot, killing the spirit of Busan’s clean shot.
Despite the large gap in the score, Busan Clean Shot tried to catch up with three consecutive points from Kim Jin-tae. Kim Jin-tae’s outside shot made it 10-6 in favour of Busan Clean Shot. However, the Busan Clean Shot was once again pushed back to 12-6 by Inje from the sky.
Skynairn Inje, which was cruising with a double score difference, faced a crisis in the second half of the game. After losing too much ground early on, Skynairn Inje relaxed and allowed Busan Cleanshot’s Kim Jin-tae to score two consecutive points in the middle of the game, bringing the score to 13-11.
However, after a two-pointer by Kim Min-seop late in the game, Skynet Inje pulled away and overcame Busan Clean Shot’s persistent pursuit with a wedge by Park Min-soo, who scored his 21st point of the game with 2:47 left in the game, and became the hero of the third round of the KXO League.
After escaping from a long slump and continuing their record of winning three consecutive tournaments, Skydive Inje is determined to stay on top in the fourth round of the KXO League, which will be held a day later on the 23rd.
Meanwhile, Inje’s Noh Seung-jun was named the MVP of the third round of the KXO League. No Seung-jun, who joined the team this year and blamed himself for the team’s early struggles, recently led the team’s comeback and won the MVP of the third round.