"We want to host the tournament most actively in Jecheon, and we also considered the accessibility of fans from other regions."
The 2024 DB Insurance KBL Cup in Jecheon is being held. The venues for the KBL Cup, which began in 2020, are in turn Gunsan, Sangju, Tongyeong, and Gunsan, and this time Jecheon.
Gunsan was the second location when Busan KCC was based in Jeonju. It is the place where KCC's home games were held at the end of every year and at the beginning of the year. Used basketball competitions were often held.
Sangju is a city where the men's and women's elementary, middle and high school basketball teams are located. College teams also often go to off-season training, and the MBC Cup National University Basketball Championship has been held every year since 2018.
Tongyeong does not seem to have anything to do with basketball at all because it does not have an elite basketball team, but sometimes professional teams and men's college teams have been favored as training sites. It is also the venue for the National Men's and Women's Elementary School Basketball Championship, which is chaired by Yoon Duk-bae, the federation's president, from 2020.
Unlike Gunsan, Sangju, and Tongyeong, Jecheon seems to have nothing to do with basketball. However, Jecheon has recently paid a lot of attention to basketball if it expands its scope to sports for all.
It has been hosting the Urim-dominated youth competition since 2019, and held the National Sports Festival in 2022. It is not limited to this, but also the venue for the 3x3 Korea Tour. In addition, a gym dedicated to basketball is also underway.
Jecheon, who was building a relationship with basketball, even hosted the KBL Cup this time.
When asked why Jecheon was chosen as the venue for the Cup, a KBL official said, "Jecheon City is hosting 3x3 basketball competitions and other sports competitions. We plan to promote and create a basketball boom by holding cup competitions every year in an area other than our hometown," adding, "We hoped to hold it in other areas besides Jecheon City, but we decided because Jecheon City wanted to hold the competition more actively and show good performances to the citizens." There are many fans in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, and since the games are held on weekends and holidays such as Hangeul Day, we considered accessibility. It is also very close to Wonju."
The Jecheon Gymnasium Court, the venue of the competition, was clean as if it had never been used before. Here was a 24-second clock needed to play professional basketball.
A KBL official said, "Originally, it was decorated with court lines such as volleyball, but when discussing with Jecheon City, the cup competition could be held only when the court was newly installed." "Instead, because elite basketball was not held here in the KBL, there were facilities that were not suitable for the professional, such as electronic boards and 24-second clocks, and we invest the KBL budget to improve it according to the professional, and leave all of them as they are." "In the future, even if the elite basketball competition is held in Jecheon City, it will be possible to proceed comfortably."
According to KBL officials, they want to host another cup competition once the basketball-only gym is completed in Jecheon.
One regrettable aspect of this year's championship is that weekday game hours are held at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The KBL will also consider matches at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. for weekdays at next year's Cup championship. 먹튀검증
The competition, which is being held in Jecheon, only has one final match left between Wonju DB and Suwon KT, which will be held at Jecheon Gymnasium at 2 p.m. on the 13th.