The baseball city of Busan has an old saying, basketball

10,496 spectators gathered at Sajik Indoor Stadium in Busan on Wednesday to watch the third round of the championship match between KCC and Suwon KT, a professional basketball team based in Busan.

It is the first time in 12 years that the number of spectators exceeded 10,000 on a single-game basis in both the regular and playoff stages in professional basketball since 12,815 spectators attended a semifinal match between KT and KGC Ginseng Corporation (currently Jeonggwanjang) in Anyang on March 24, 2012. Back then, the venue was Sajik Indoor Stadium.

With KCC's success and growing number of spectators visiting the basketball court, Busan used to be called a "baseball city" as well. The Busan-based professional baseball team Lotte Giants is at the bottom of the standings, while the Busan I'Park, a soccer team, has been at the bottom of the standings for a long time and is losing popularity. Busan is poised to emerge as a "basketball city."

The record for spectators at Sajik Indoor Stadium on the day far exceeds 8,870 at the match against Samsung in Seoul on Oct. 22 last year, when KCC moved from Jeonju to Busan for the first time. The team broke the record for spectators in a single game this season. When KCC broke the record for the opening game from the pre-booking, it even opened seats on the third and fourth floors, which it would not normally open.

Although KCC finished fifth in the regular season of 2023-2024, the team has advanced to the Champions League with completely different performances in the playoffs. This is the first time for a fifth-place team to advance to the Champions League, and it will set another record if it wins the championship. KCC also garnered a thrilling 92-89 victory in the match on the day, sending the home fans to the stadium enthusiastic. The team is one step closer to the championship trophy with two wins and one loss in the best-of-seven championships.

KCC coach Jeon Chang-jin, whom I met before the game, said, "Busan players will definitely come to watch important games if they perform well," adding, "I asked the players to play a game without regret."

Adding dramatic elements to the upcoming championship game, the championship will further boost basketball popularity in Busan. The sibling rivalry between KCC's flagship Hur Woong and KT's ace Hur Hoon is considered one of the biggest box office factors in the upcoming championship game. Hur Woong and Hur Hoon are sons of Heo Jae, who used to be called basketball presidents. As the brothers are in control of the outcome, it is all the more eye-catching. At the match, Hur scored 26 points to be named the most prolific scorer in his team. Hur scored the most points in both teams with 37 points, dragging the game to the last minute.

The strange relationship between KCC and KT in Busan is another factor that attracted audiences. KT had Busan as its base before moving to Suwon in 2021, and as KCC moved from Jeonju to Busan this season, it has been loved by Busan fans instead.

On the same day, 14,791 spectators visited Sajik Stadium in Busan, where a game between Lotte Giants and Kiwoom Heroes was held. The number of spectators is larger than that at the basketball court. However, even though the game was held on Labor Day, a legal holiday, the number of spectators at the match against Samsung Electronics decreased significantly compared to the game on weekdays early last month. On April 10, the voting day, 22,758 spectators attended the match against Samsung Electronics.

Lotte ranked fourth after LG, SSG, and Doosan with an average attendance of 12,216 spectators per game last season. Although Lotte ranks fourth after LG, Doosan, and SSG with 243,425 spectators this season as of the 1st, the number of spectators is decreasing due to its narrow gap with KIA (224,988) and its win rate is less than 30 percent. Only 8,499 spectators came to the match against SSG on April 24.

K-League 2 Busan I'Park, a soccer team based in Busan, is embarrassed to give out its business card. Currently, the average number of spectators standing at 2,890 people has played five home games this season. It is less than one third of Suwon Samsung (10,754). On a cumulative basis, the number of spectators stands at 14,450, less than the number of spectators gathered at Sajik Stadium in Busan on a daily basis. Even this means that the number of spectators has increased significantly due to hopes for promotion to the first division last season. The average number of spectators stood at 1,468 in the 2022 season, half of the current number.

Busan remained in the second division throughout the season after being demoted to the second division in the bottom half of the K-League 1. In the final match last season, the team failed to win a home game against Cheongju FC in North Chungcheong Province, and missed the opportunity to be promoted to the Direct. In the promotion and release match against Suwon FC in the first division, it also slipped after losing a large number of points in the second game. As of this season, it has accumulated 15 points, ranking third this season.

BY: 토토사이트 추천