The two players, who changed to the uniform of the Goyang Sono professional basketball team, are happy to see the hot sunshine. A clue of a relationship that started with the Busan KT in 2015 circulated and continued at the Sono team.
Veteran guards Hong Kyung-gi (36, photo left) and Lee Jae-do (33, right) are the main characters. The two players met with a reporter at Hongcheon Vivaldi Park, Sono's training site, on Thursday and said, "We don't know how long it has been since we played together at KT in the 2015-2016 season. This time, I want to play spring basketball together at Sono."
The two three-year-old players played for one team during the 2015-2016 season. While Lee Jae-do was the main player who played all 54 games for KT, Hong was an out-of-the-box player who had no chance to play in a single game. It is almost a miracle that the two players reunited at Sono. Since Hong and Lee signed contracts with Sono and Changwon LG, respectively as free agents, Lee Jae-do was traded to Jeon Sung-hyun shortly after the FA market ended, and dramatically rejoined the same team.
"Coach Kim Seung-ki seems to care about me too much," Lee Jae-do said. "He called me to Anyang before, and he took me back this time," adding, "I know most of Sonoe including (Hong) Gyeonggi-do, so I have no problem adapting."
Hong has become accustomed to Sono through Lee Jae-do. Although he joined Sono by sending Kim a lengthy text message at the end of his free trade period, he is new to his basketball tactics and style. "Lee Jae-do has been telling me many things about the coach's basketball. Every day that he trains at Sono is precious," Hong stressed. 동행복권파워볼
Lee Jae-do knows better than anyone else how he feels about Hong. Having failed to get a chance to play in 2015, Lee was more desperate than anyone else in training. "There are so many things to learn from Hong. He is probably a role model for players who joined our team in the second to third rounds," Lee said, recalling the past.
The day when Lee Jae-do and Hong Gyeonggi will play on the court is approaching. We have to think of each other's styles that we have forgotten for nine years before the opening of the season. Lee Jae-do and Lee Jung-hyun are likely to take the lead, but Hong Gyeonggi-do is also said to have enough skills to fill the vacancy.
Hong's goal is Sono's advance into spring basketball (a nickname for the playoffs). Sono, which was founded last year, failed to advance to the playoffs by ranking eighth.
"Coach Hong said let's watch the championship game," he said. "I want to play spring basketball with him." Lee Jae-do has a clear memory of winning all 10 games of the playoffs with Kim at Anyang KGC (currently Jeong Kwan-jang). "Our coach doesn't know what kind of results he will get if he goes to the playoffs. Let's become a dokkaebi team in spring basketball," he said.