‘Abando is back’ smiles as Chung snaps 10-game losing streak with 92:87 win over Sono

Jung Kwanjang snapped a 10-game losing streak behind the return of Lens Abando from injury.

The Jung Kwanjang defeated the Goyang Sono 92-87 at home in the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball League regular season on Wednesday at Anyang Gymnasium in Gyeonggi Province.

It was the first victory in about five weeks for the team, which had lost 10 straight KBL games since defeating the 온라인카지노 Ulsan Hyundai Mobis 114-90 on Jan. 21.

With 14 wins and 31 losses, Jung Kwanjang is still ninth in the standings, but has closed the gap on eighth-place Sono (15 wins and 30 losses) to one game. It also ended a four-match losing streak to Sono this season.

Abando’s return was a big boost for Chung. Abando was diagnosed with a fractured lumbar vertebrae, sprained wrist ligaments, and a concussion after coming down from a jump during a match against Sono on Dec. 28 last year, and had to undergo treatment and rehabilitation for more than two months.

During this time, it was pointed out that Sono’s foreign player Chinanu Onuaku had pushed Abando too hard, and there was talk that Abando’s camp would take legal action against Onuaku.

Coincidentally, Abando, who was making his comeback against Sono, scored a steal followed by a free throw with 1:37 left in the game to make it 86-82.

On the ensuing possession, SONO‘s Lee Jung-hyun fouled Abando, sending him to the court, where he appeared to be in a bit of shock.

Abando also made a crucial play when he drew a foul on Onuaku in the middle of a three-point move with just over a minute left in the game after Lee Jung-hyun hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two points.

Abando made all three free throws to push the score back to 90-85, and the game looked set to be in Chung’s favor.

SONO then had a chance to get back into the game after Onuaku’s dunk to cut the deficit to three points, but back-to-back three-pointers by Lee Jung-hyun failed to tie the game.

Robert Carter scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Abando added 17 points, four rebounds, four steals, and three assists.

Onuaku, who played 39:51 minutes on his own with Dahuan Summers ruled out for the remainder of the game with a four-week diagnosis of a hamstring injury, finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Lee Jung-hyun and Kim Ji-hoo added 18 points apiece.

The Anyang crowd made no secret of their frustration with Abando’s injury process, booing Onuaku every time he touched the ball.

In the second-place matchup between Suwon KT and Changwon LG in Suwon, LG won 75-60.

LG’s Yang Hong-seok scored a team-high 20 points against KT, where he played until last season. With its third straight win, LG improved to 28-17 and closed the gap on second-place KT (29-15) to 1.5 games.

Fourth-place Seoul SK also didn’t give up the chase for a second-place finish that would put them directly into the four-team playoffs with a 90-69 win over Busan KCC.

In front of 5,215 home fans, SK was led by Jamil Warney’s 21 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists, while Ahn Young-joon added 19 points and Heo Woong’s 18 points in a dominant win over KCC.

KCC’s international Song Kyo-chang was out with a sore toe.

First-place Wonju DB (35-10), which did not play on the day, reduced its magic number to five to clinch the regular season title.