KCC is heading to Busan.
The KBL on Tuesday approved the move of the KCC Aegis from Jeonju to Busan.
Disappointed with the city’s lukewarm attitude toward building a new stadium, KCC will be moving after 22 years. KCC has won two regular season titles and three championships in Jeonju.
KCC’s new home is Busan. After two seasons without a men’s professional basketball team, Busan welcomed KCC in June 2021 when KT opted to relocate.
With KCC’s move, a number of matchups between KT and KCC will be highlighted in the new season.
The “Daegu Derby” between KCC and Orion has already attracted attention. On the day of the Orion’s first game in Daegu in over a decade, a large crowd attended the game, and many fans showed their support for coach Kim Byung-chul, a former star of the Daegu franchise.
With the sale of the Orion and the expulsion of Dae-Won, the Daegu Derby has lost much of its meaning, and the “Busan Derby” between KCC and KT has emerged. Busan’s old and new owners are expected to face off in a spirited matchup starting in the 2023-2024 season. 메이저놀이터
When the news of KCC’s relocation became known, basketball fans in Busan showed various opinions, such as “I will support KCC as KCC is starting a new home in Busan” and “I will still support KT, which I have always liked.”
The game between KCC and KT was already expected to be a box office hit due to the brotherly reunion of Heo Hoon and his brother Heo Woong, who will retire from the business. The two players are two of the most popular and skilled players in the current KBL, having finished first and second in the 2021-2022 season’s All-Star voting by an overwhelming margin. Add to that the hometown issues, and the rivalry between the two teams becomes even more intense.
In addition, KCC head coach Jeon Chang-jin and KT head coach Song Young-jin were priests at KT. During his heyday at KT, Song led the team to its first-ever regular season title in the 2010-2011 season alongside his former coach.
Barring any changes to the schedule, KT’s first away game of the new season will be on October 26 against Busan. While it’s unfortunate that KCC had to leave their longtime home of Jeonju due to local government inaction, their arrival in Busan creates an interesting new rivalry.