sports

The second-round matches of the 2024 Basketball Premier League that started in June came to an end.

The matches were fierce, unpredictable and high-strung from the beginning since differences in abilities between participating teams dwindled a lot and the results of matches were generally alternated.

In the men’s first stage of the second-round matches, the Kigwancha team took the first place with four wins and one defeat and the April 25 and Amnokgang teams came second and third respectively.

Accordingly, rankings in the men’s second stage of the second-round matches were decided in the way of playing between teams with the same rankings.

There was a fierce match between the Pyongyang and Amnokgang on July 9 to decide the third and fourth placers in the second-round matches.

The synthesized record of the first-round matches and the first stage of the second round of the Premier League at that time showed that the win of the Amnokgang was certain and the Pyongyang could be pushed out of the rankings if it lost the match.

But if the Pyongyang won, the second, third and fourth placers would be decided by the number of wins and defeats as the Kigwancha, Pyongyang, April 25 and Sobaeksu were much the same in the total results. 

The Pyongyang controlled the offensive of the Amnokgang with strong defence and, with player No. 8 who is swift and has various techniques as an axis, breached the opponent’s defence by dint of quick pass and one-on-one break and attacked it in an aggressive manner by suddenly changing the directions of offensive.

Consequently, the Pyongyang defeated the Amnokgang in the match, and so the final rankings came to be decided by the number of wins and defeats of each team.

The match that took place two days later between the April 25 and Kigwancha was also a decisive game to decide which team would lead in the final rankings.

From the beginning, the April 25 mounted a powerful offensive with great perseverance and fortitude. Making the most of their better physical conditions, players of the April 25 brought the activities of the Kigwancha’s forwards under control by a tight man-to-man defence.

They also outnumbered their opponents in the front court through quick pass and movement to increase the success rate of long- and medium-range attacks while scoring in succession by bold and smart one-on-one break to keep absolute edge.

In the match, the April 25, which took the initiative with tight defence and powerful offensive, won an overwhelming victory against the Kigwancha, thus taking the first place in the second-round matches of the Premier League.

In the women’s basketball matches, the April 25, Kigwancha and Sobaeksu came first, second and third respectively.

In the Basketball Premier League which was held in two rounds for about 60 days, the Pyongyang won the men’s 3-on-3 basketball and the Amnokgang the men’s basketball, while the April 25 won both events in the women’s games.