Clutch Performance and National Fever
The real driving force behind the success of this Incheon Asian Games was, without a doubt, basketball.
Baseball felt like a guaranteed gold, and soccer had long gaps between matches. Basketball, however, featured short intervals between games and carried the underdog story of chasing gold for the first time in twelve years since the Busan Asian Games.
The ratings proved it.
In that electric atmosphere, the quarterfinal group stage opener against Kazakhstan took place on September 26th.
The game was held at the Hwaseong Sports Complex instead of Incheon as part of the decentralized hosting plan, yet it still sold out completely.
-Shin Su-bin! Shin Su-bin! Shin Su-bin!
-Kyaaaaaaaah!
It felt like every basketball fan in the country had gathered in one place.
The team rode that passionate energy, but they began to struggle against Kazakhstan’s height advantage. The 2.10-meter center Anton Ponomarev had completely sealed off the paint.
NTBC commentator Kim Jun-gi pointed it out immediately.
“Our players seem way too passive right now. The opponent is running a 4-1 zone defense to protect the paint, right? Normally, the way to break that kind of defense is with outside shooting, but completely giving up on attacking the paint is exactly what they want. Even if you’re shooting from outside, you still have to keep shaking them up inside! Keep doing it!”
Then, when players who tried to attack the rim kept getting blocked and Ponomarev recorded his fourth block of the game, even Kim Jun-gi shut his mouth and switched tactics.
“Like I said earlier! We need to solve this with outside shooting right now!”
“Ah, Shin Su-bin is shooting it!”
Swish!
With 1:02 left in the fourth quarter, Su-bin’s three-pointer ripped through the net.
The score was now 76-72.
“Clea───n! Shin Su-bin’s three-pointer! That’s his 18th point of the game!”
“Well done! We’re now up by two possessions! This is huge!”
The arena erupted.
-Kyaaaaaaaah!
-Shin Su-bin! Shin Su-bin!
-Su-bin, I love you!!
The final score was 77-75. The national team had scraped out a hard-fought victory over Kazakhstan to claim their first quarterfinal win. The combined ratings from the three networks during those clutch final five minutes soared to an incredible 32 percent.
The public reaction was, naturally, explosive.
Through these national team games, Su-bin had firmly established himself as an icon of Korean basketball.
He also dominated the post-game court-side interview.
The female announcer gazed at him with honey dripping from her eyes as she asked her questions.
“You put on another incredible performance today! Could we get a few words about how you feel?”
“I think it’s all thanks to what the seniors set up for me.”
“You really are so humble. You were selected first overall in the domestic draft and will be joining Seoul. Could you share your thoughts on that as well?”
“I’m grateful they chose me. I will do my very best.”
“Ah… yes…”
His interview skills were painfully lacking.
Seo-jun, unable to watch any longer, stepped in.
“Hey, try giving longer answers.”
Seo-jun ruffled Su-bin’s hair as he cut in. Su-bin simply smiled softly.
“Then you should do it with me, hyung.”
“I didn’t even play. What would I say?”
“You’re playing tomorrow.”
The announcer’s eyes sparkled at that answer.
“Lee Seo-jun, are you saying you will be playing in tomorrow’s game?”
“Ah, this is basically revealing our tactics so I shouldn’t say too much… but… yes, I told the coach that my condition has improved enough for me to play. Still, whether I actually play or not is up to the coach’s decision.”
The arena shook with excitement.
The announcer pressed him eagerly.
“How much has your condition recovered?”
“I think I’m at about ninety percent.”
This was breaking news.
Today’s ratings had already hit 32 percent across the three networks. If Seo-jun was playing? And the game was scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m.?
The broadcast producers’ jaws dropped.
‘We’re definitely cracking forty percent tomorrow!’
‘We have to grab as much of the pie as possible!’
All three networks scrambled into action. A full-scale broadcasting war was inevitable, which meant they needed to secure big-name guests to stand out.
While that off-court battle raged, Seo-jun and Su-bin continued their friendly joint interview.
“This kid Su-bin may not be great with words, but he’s incredibly thoughtful. So you have to read between the lines. What he said earlier basically means he’s extremely happy. If happiness has six levels, I’d say he’s at level four?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s true. Normally he would’ve just said ‘I’ll do my best’ and ended it. The fact that he added ‘I’m grateful they chose me’ puts him at level four. Level four.”
“Haha…”
The sight was so sweet that some female fans felt like they had discovered a whole new world. The bond between the two was clearly special.
It had already been two weeks since Seo-jun joined the national team.
Life with the team was relaxed. He woke up at eight in the morning, replied to Seo-eun’s messages that had piled up overnight, then spent about ten minutes lounging in bed while checking the news.
After that, he went for a thirty-minute jog to break a sweat, showered, and headed to the gym.
‘There’s no morning practice today because of the game…’
He spent some time on video analysis, ate lunch, then took a walk to help digestion while catching up with acquaintances on the phone.
“Yes, yes, ma’am. Did you receive the tickets safely? …Ah, you’re asking if Su-bin leaked that I’m playing? Haha. It’s not Su-bin’s fault. He was just happy we’re playing together and let it slip. So please don’t scold him. Yes, yes. I’ll see you at the arena.”
Another call came right after.
“Seo-eun, did you get the tickets?”
“Yeah, oppa. But why did you send four?”
“If your friends want to come, bring them along. Your friends know we’re dating, right? If I didn’t get you tickets they’d think it was weird.”
“My friends don’t know I’m dating you.”
“Huh? You didn’t tell them?”
“Why would I tell them?”
“To brag that your boyfriend is a famous athlete or something…”
Seo-eun sounded genuinely confused.
“Only idiots brag about their boyfriends. If you do that among girls, it’s basically advertising so they can get jealous and hate you.”
“I see…”
“And if one of my friends ends up falling for you, that would be a huge headache.”
“What are you talking about? Who would fall for me?”
“You don’t know this, but you were really popular when you played soccer. There were about three girls who liked you back in high school.”
“For real!? Which class? Do I know them!?”
“What would you do even if you knew?”
“Oh.”
“Are you that curious about who liked you?”
“Just wondering…”
Even so, Seo-eun told him the names, saying it was all in the past. One of them had been famous for being one of the prettiest girls in school, but he made sure not to show any sign of joy.
‘The moment I look happy it’ll jump straight to level three.’
As he barely managed to hide his reaction, Seo-eun asked,
“What about you, oppa? Do you brag about me to your friends?”
“Sometimes?”
“What? You actually bragged about me!?”
Suddenly Seo-eun started acting sulky. He had thought she was embarrassed about him talking about her to others, but that wasn’t it.
“But why don’t you ever tell me those stories? I want to hear you bragging about me the most.”
“Th-that’s embarrassing.”
“I can keep bragging about you in front of you all day, you know?”
The sweetness practically poured through the phone. He was slowly getting used to Seo-eun’s relentless affection offensive these days. He had even tried launching a few counterattacks recently, but he still couldn’t match her.
After spending time on that call, he checked his physical condition in preparation for the game.
‘Condition is good.’
His physical condition was around ninety percent, but his mental condition was at one hundred twenty percent, so overall he figured he was sitting at about one hundred percent.
After the check, he took the team bus at four o’clock to reach the arena in time for the five o’clock tip-off. Just like the news had reported, scalpers were everywhere. Even an hour before tip-off, the outside of the arena was packed.
‘It would’ve been nice if the arena was bigger.’
With only seven thousand seats, the high ticket prices were unavoidable.
The moment the team bus pulled up and they stepped off, the fans who had been waiting in droves let out thunderous cheers.
“Su-bin, look over here!”
“Shin Su-biiiiiiin!”
“Seo-jun, sign this for my kid!”
“I bought an Atlanta jersey! Please sign it!”
Event staff desperately tried to hold them back.
“There will be time after the game! Please let the players focus right now!”
“Please maintain order!”
Even the veteran players looked surprised by the intensity of the heat. They had never experienced anything like it. But to Seo-jun, it was nothing.
Compared to the KK Partizan fans who had hurled every kind of pad and racial slur without hesitation, this was just people who genuinely liked them.
Su-bin seemed to feel the same way. He walked through the tunnel with an indifferent expression.
After dropping their bags in the locker room, they headed out to the court and began shooting practice.
…
…
He could feel the Philippine players staring at him intently and whispering among themselves.
Seo-jun glanced over at them.
‘I heard they’re pretty strong.’
The commonly recognized top four in Asian basketball were Iran, China, the Philippines, and South Korea. Among them, the Philippines were known for their crafty, street-ball style of play.
‘Their guards are small, but their big men are huge.’
Center Fajardo, standing at 2.11 meters, was the heart of the Philippine team. Point guard Jimmy Alapag was another key piece.
From their perspective, Seo-jun was clearly a player to watch. He could feel their piercing gazes the entire time.
Five minutes before tip-off, the stands were completely full and player introductions began.
“Number 13! Small forward! Lee Seo-jun!”
The screams from the female fans were so loud it sounded like wailing.
‘This feels different from soccer.’
Soccer national team games also drew plenty of female fans, mostly couples. But today he saw many women who had come alone or with same-sex friends. It wasn’t just because of Su-bin. Apparently Korean basketball had always had a large female fanbase.
‘No cheerleaders, of course…’
Asian Games regulations prohibited cheerleaders. He had wanted to see them at least once. What a shame.
-Seo-jun, do your best!
-Our Su-bin and Seo-jun, fighting!
-Oppa, fighting!
Among the cheers, he could somehow pick out the voices of his acquaintances as if by magic.
When he stepped onto the court, Su-bin—who had been introduced first—looked at him with a determined expression and held out his palm.
“Welcome, hyung.”
The kid was burning with even more fire than he was.
Some fans and people in the domestic basketball scene had been undervaluing and badmouthing Seo-jun. While Seo-jun himself didn’t care at all, Su-bin had taken it personally and was seething.
“Let’s shut the mouths of everyone who talked shit about you today, hyung.”
The fact that Su-bin was speaking this strongly showed just how angry he was.
“Okay. Then give me some good support.”
“Got it.”
Whistle!
The game began as team captain and center Choi Ju-seong won the jump ball.
In this game, Seo-jun had taken on the ball-handling duties.
He had personally requested it from head coach Lee Jae-hak. It wasn’t so much for practice at running the offense as it was to gain freedom in ball distribution. His chemistry and relationship with the starting point guard Heo Seung-won were both poor.
So after Seo-jun took the primary ball-handling role, he planned to let Su-bin run the offense. Under normal circumstances it would have been unthinkable, but Seo-jun’s status made it possible. Coach Lee Jae-hak had simply told him to do whatever he wanted.
“Su-bin, let’s run that play.”
“…! Okay.”
Seo-jun passed the ball to Su-bin and drifted toward the corner.
It was the same early-game pattern he always ran to test his shooting touch.
Su-bin began adjusting the players’ positions exactly as requested. It was his first time running the offense with the national team, so he fumbled a little, but he still managed to set everything up by the time the shot clock hit ten seconds.
At that moment.
Tap! Seo-jun, who had been in the left corner, cut hard to the left forty-five degree angle.
Normally a big would have come to set an off-ball screen here, but since the opponent wasn’t guarding against this action yet, there was no need.
Whoosh! Su-bin’s pass flew toward the sprinting Seo-jun.
The instant he caught it, Seo-jun twisted his body about fifty degrees, faced the rim squarely, and rose up.
It was a high-difficulty catch-and-shoot three while sprinting at full speed and hitting the brakes. Even for him, this shot had only a twenty-nine percent success rate. It was that difficult.
‘I’m making this no matter what!’
Whenever he attempted this shot in the past, he had always muttered a sort of prayer.
‘Korver hyung, please help me.’ Or ‘Korver hyung, please watch over me.’
But now?
Korver had actually helped him, and was truly watching.
‘This cannot miss.’
Whoosh! The ball drew a perfect arc and flew quickly toward the basket.
Seo-jun immediately clenched his fist.
Swish! The ball passed through the rim with a crisp, satisfying sound.
Lee Seo-jun’s opening three-pointer to start the game.
The SBC broadcast team, one of the three networks, let out gasps of amazement.
“Clean! Lee Seo-jun’s three-pointer! He just rose up with a defender glued to him!?”
“The degree of difficulty on that shot was extremely high, but he made it look easy.”
For today’s broadcast, SBC had brought in a famous celebrity basketball enthusiast as a guest commentator.
It was none other than the CEO of one of the top three entertainment agencies.
Guest commentator Kim Jin-young could not hide his admiration.
“Lee Seo-jun is incredibly fast. Even though the defender contested it, Seo-jun’s release speed was so quick and his release point so high that the defender couldn’t bother his shooting hand. The praise about Lee Seo-jun’s physical gifts was clearly deserved!”
The defense continued.
From the right forty-five, Seo-jun kept distance while adding weight to the team’s defense. Squeak! Creak! Even though his own man didn’t have the ball, he was constantly making tiny, quick adjustments with his feet, optimizing his position according to the flow of the ball.
When a three-point attempt came from the corner, he exploded toward the basket, boxed out perfectly, and together with Choi Ju-seong, clamped down on opposing center Fajardo’s breathing room. At the same time, he kept watch on other opponents cutting to the basket, perfectly playing the role of help defender for the center.
Just from that single play, Choi Ju-seong could gauge the level of Seo-jun’s defensive sense.
‘This kid is the real deal.’
He came to that conclusion immediately.
Thud! After grabbing the defensive rebound himself, Seo-jun passed the ball to Su-bin and said,
“Su-bin! I think their guys are my prey right now.”
“Got it.”
Prey.
Everyone except Su-bin had to think for a second about what that meant.
It wasn’t even a mismatch situation, yet he called the opponent prey?
Philippine forward Ocampo was listed at two meters tall and had a similar frame to Seo-jun.
Even so, Seo-jun had decided to treat him as food.
After receiving the ball at the forty-five on the wing, Seo-jun drove straight at him.
Boom! With a single shoulder bump, he shoved Ocampo aside, tore through the gap, and attacked the rim.
“Ugh…!?”
Ocampo’s face twisted in shock.
It meant only one thing.
In both strength and speed, Seo-jun was ahead by more than two levels.
“Lee Seo-jun drives to the basket!”
Still, the Philippine help defense was quick.
Fajardo, who had been playing zone in the middle of the paint, leaped toward the rising Seo-jun and contested from the side.
‘Not even close!’
Fajardo stretched out his arm to block. He had the mindset that even if it resulted in a foul, he would knock the ball away no matter what. He swung his arm hard at the ball.
But Seo-jun subtly lowered the ball and slipped his hand away. Fajardo’s palm slapped harmlessly against Seo-jun’s forearm.
Whistle! A foul was called.
…And then Seo-jun raised both arms.
Bang!! He threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk.
At that play, Kim Jin-young unconsciously let out a wild scream.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaa──!”
“Whoaaaa! The basket counts and a foul on the defender! Lee Seo-jun just threw down a double clutch dunk!”
At that exact moment.
The chat on the internet broadcast completely froze.