SJ Belangel dazzles in first KBL win with Daegu KOGAS

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Former Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles superstar point guard SJ Belangel was quick to introduce his name in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) after leading the Daegu KOGAS Pegasus to their first win of the season.

Belangel stuffed the stat sheets and dropped 14 points, eight assists, and six rebounds during their 98-78 dominant win over the Wonju DB Promy basketball club.

The former Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team point guard displayed an efficient outing from the shooting field and ended the game with only three misses on 6/9 shooting.

What was more impressive is that Belangel only needed 15 minutes of playing time to rack those statistics up from points to assists.

It was in the first half that Belangel produced most of his points after tallying eight markers that helped Daegu enter the second half with a double-digit lead.

Despite Daegu’s loss against the Jeonju KCC Egis in their first game of the season, Belangel still put up decent numbers and posted 10 points, two assists, and two rebounds.

Daegu had the chance to inch closer in the last quarter of the ball game but their main gunners unfortunately fired blanks and let Jeonju balloon their lead.

Against Wonju, Daegu finally regained their shooting stroke and banked on their balanced offensive attack with three more players scoring in double figures.

Towering Senegalese center Youssou Ndoye was an unstoppable force in the paint and contributed 22 big points, 17 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

Meanwhile, Jeong Hyo Geun waxed hot from the three-point line and chipped in 17 points built from three treys while Shin Seung Min added 14 points and eight rebounds.