“I was told to go to the championship match… .”
Changwon LG ranked second in the 2022-23 SKT A-Dot professional basketball regular league, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in nine years since the 2013-14 season. A long-awaited achievement. But they couldn’t laugh.
LG lost main foreign player Asem Marey in the final match of the regular season against Ulsan Hyundai Mobis. After complaining of knee pain during the second quarter, he had to leave the court and never return.
It was an area that had already shocked me once. Eventually, as the pain in her knee reached her calf, Marei said she felt pain to the point that she could not stand properly.
The first checkup result was a 3-week break. If it was 3 weeks, it was difficult to participate in the semifinal playoffs. At this time, Marey is said to have told the team, “We must go to the championship match.” It was a message telling me to persevere until then since I can play from the championship match.
However, Marey, who headed to Seoul to get accurate checkup results, received the worst result of a 6-week diagnosis. Season out in 6 weeks. According to an LG official, “Marey had a really hard time. When he was first diagnosed at 3 weeks, he was the one who told the squad to only go until the championship match. However, he had a hard time when the news of the 6-week diagnosis was delivered.”
LG quickly filled the void left by Marey by recruiting Reggie Perry. However, as the play styles are different, expectations and concerns coexist. If Marey is a classic center, Perry is a stretch 4 big man. Since LG has already experienced Dante Cunningham, there will be no big problem in adapting, but it is difficult to expect the superiority in height and rebound that Marey can bring when he is on the court. 메이저놀이터
For Marey, 2023 seems to be remembered as a year of joy and sorrow. He led the team to advance to the Basketball World Cup for the first time in 9 years since 2014, wearing the Egyptian national team uniform in February. However, a month later, he led the team to the semifinals with his best performance, but he left KBL earlier than expected.
Meanwhile, LG plans to thoroughly manage Marey’s body condition until it gets better as much as possible. An LG official said, “Fortunately, Marey’s family is in Korea. It will be a lot of strength. At the club level, we will help him recover as quickly as possible.”