Jamil Warney (29, 199.8cm) struggled in the away game against KCC, but showed off his presence in an important game.
Warney made a big success with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists in the 3rd game of the 2022-2023 SKT Adot Pro Basketball Round of 6 playoff against Jeonju KCC held at Jeonju Gymnasium on the 7th. SK advanced to the semifinals with a 77-72 come-from-behind victory and a sweep, tying Kim Seon-hyung’s (10 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists) triple-double performance.
The key player Jeon Hee-chul picked before the game was Warney. “I want you to go crazy. It can end (series) if Warnie explodes. He even stimulated me by saying, ‘There is no game you did well in Jeonju’.” These are the words of director Jeon Hee-cheol.
In fact, Warney only averaged 20.8 points in 6 games against KCC in the regular league. It was Warney’s lowest score against any team. As coach Jeon Hee-chul said, he was particularly weak in away games. He scored 27.3 points in 3 home games against KCC, while only 14.3 points in 3 away games. Although the record included one game in Gunsan, it was clear that Warney was weak in the away game against KCC.
Game 3 of the playoffs was different. Laguna (2 points, 3 rebounds) only digested 14 minutes and 15 seconds, and the bottom of the goal became Warney’s solo stage. In the first half, it showed a field goal hunting (3/13), but after driving in 12 points in the 3rd quarter, in the 4th quarter, it recorded an 80% field goal rate (4/5), destroying KCC. The 30 points is a record that corresponds to Warney’s tie for the most points in a single game for second place. The first place is 33 points written against Goyang Orion (now Carrot) on April 22 last year.
Warney said, “Strategically, it was the same as the last game. He attacked under the goal so that he could score many goals with Kim Seon-hyung. He started the game by committing three errors in the beginning, but he played a good game by using his concentration at the end.”
Warney continued, “There were many difficult matches throughout the series. KCC is a team with good skills. Each player is the best, but I think he suffered from injuries. The 2nd and 3rd games were close matches, so our team almost lost, but we were able to win because we didn’t give up.” 스포츠토토
SK’s opponent in the quarterfinals is Changwon LG, which is second in the regular league. In the regular league matchup, they faced 3 wins and 3 losses, and the winning rate (36 wins, 18 losses, .667) was the same. The variable is a foreign player. In LG, the injured Assem Marey was replaced by Reggie Perry. Perry did not have enough time to work with existing players, but there is also a variable that SK has little data to directly analyze.
“LG had a long break, but we also earned a break by finishing the semifinals in three games. “I will prepare well,” said Warney. “Perry had a good record in the G-League. I think a good player has come, but LG will also have to be careful with our team. They play two away games first, but they have to win at least one game so that they can continue the series comfortably at home. Kim Seon-hyeong and I were regular league MVPs, so he has to play that role.”