Samsung avoid first losing streak as coach Kim Sang-sik warns 'we're not a top team'

Seoul Samsung were one bad night away from their first losing streak of the season. They turned it around, and their coach still won't relax.

On Monday, Samsung came from behind to beat Suwon KT 85-78 in the KBL (Korea's pro basketball league) at Jamsil Students' Gymnasium in Seoul.

What happened?

KT came in hot. They had won three straight after a loss to Wonju DB two days earlier, and they were led by Parris Bass, the league's top scorer at 28.2 points per game.

Bass scored 19 in the first half alone, and Samsung trailed 46-40 at the break.

Then the second half changed everything. Kerem Kanter and Justin Gutang led the chase, and Samsung took the lead late in the third quarter. KT pulled level at 73-73 with about four minutes left, but Samsung answered with eight straight points.

Kanter finished with 27. Gutang added 10 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, even after twisting his ankle in the fourth quarter.

Why does this one matter?

Samsung finished last in the league five seasons in a row. This year, under new coach Kim Sang-sik, they opened with nine straight wins.

That run ended on 1 November with a loss to Seoul SK. Another defeat could have dented the team's morale, Kim said.

"I was really worried, but this is a big win," he said. "The players overcame it themselves." He pointed to defence and rebounding, and said that when the gap grew to 10 or 11 points, the team found a way through.

Gutang put it this way: on paper, individual players may look weak, but "in five-on-five, we've grown into a strong team." He even said he'd like to win the league's defence award this season.

What's next?

Kim isn't getting carried away. He tells his players to feel a sense of crisis until the season ends, because Samsung "are not a top-tier team."

"We can fall into a losing streak at any time," he said. He plans to keep stressing defence and rebounding.