On February 23, according to the South Korea Central Epidemic Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters, the country reported 171,452 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours – the first time since the outbreak of the epidemic that the statistics exceeded the 170,000 mark.
Such a severe epidemic situation will naturally affect South Korea's basketball activities, and on the 22nd, the Korean Basketball Association issued a statement -
"Decided not to participate in the 2023 Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers in Manila from February 24 to 28."
At the same time, KBL, South Korea's top basketball professional league, also announced a one-week postponement on the same day, because a total of 17 people in the league (10 players, 7 coaches) tested positive for the new crown.
The national team abandoned the World Cup qualifiers, the league was postponed, and whether the future can be restarted on time is unknown - the claws of the new crown virus seem to be about to press the pause button of Korean basketball again.
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As early as February 18, the South Korean men's basketball team regrouped in preparation for the upcoming 2023 Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers, but the subsequent covid-19 examination had a total of 5 players such as Luo Jian'er, Kim Jong-kyu, Lee Yoo-seok and other 5 players diagnosed positive;
On the 20th, the Korean Basketball Association had to change the big list and continue to prepare;
However, on the 21st, another positive test for the new crown virus was carried out to the Philippines, bringing the total number to 6.
Fortunately, except for the relevant players and the 2 players who were previously diagnosed but have been released from isolation, the rest are negative.
Considering the team's concerns about further diagnosis and the health and safety of the national players, the Korean Basketball Association conveyed to FIBA its intention not to participate.
"It is important that there are no further diagnoses. Going to the Philippines will also be a problem, and I'm worried that I won't be able to come back in the middle. "
Cho Sang-hyun, head coach of the South Korean men's basketball team, expressed his concerns; he sighed in an interview because South Korea would be sentenced to lose all four games due to absenteeism in the four games scheduled for the Philippines.
"Although I ran for the goal of entering the World Cup, I was still blocked by the new crown virus. After all, the health of the players is paramount. It was a tough decision. ”
He said.
In addition, there are also worrying penalties from FIBA.
At present, the Korean Basketball Association is appealing the penalty for not participating in the Asian Cup qualifiers – on January 20, 2021, FIBA announced that it fined a number of basketball players, including China, Chinese Taipei and South Korea, 160,000 Swiss francs (equivalent to about 1.17 million yuan), deducting 2 points from the Asian Cup qualifiers, because they did not participate in the Asian Cup preliminaries due to the epidemic.
But this time, it is a completely different case - the national team itself has confirmed the case.
Previously, there was a 2022 women's basketball World Cup qualifier Belarus had been absent for the above reasons; the reasons were different, but it is not known whether FIBA will punish again, so the Korean Basketball Association is very headache, and did not give the reporter who asked the question a good look -
"You should consult FIBA about these issues."
On the same day, KBL also announced that the game was postponed by 1 week, because on the 22nd, the league tested 17 cases of confirmed positive covid-19.
At this point, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of KBL increased to 108 (83 players, 25 coaches), breaking through 3 digits in one fell swoop, so KBL held a board of directors on the 22nd to discuss postponing the game and related countermeasures.
(KBL) postponed the competition schedule for one week due to the new crown virus, and will end on April 5.
If the schedule is postponed for more than 2 weeks, the playoffs will be played in a 2-win format in 3 games in the round of 6, a 2-win format in 3 games in the round of 4, and a 3-win system in 5 championship battles.
If the postponement reaches 4 weeks or more, the Board of Governors will be convened to reconsider the schedule for the season.
KBL also has its own development league, called the D League, which has decided to cancel the schedule after that, taking into account the safety of the participants, and will determine the final ranking according to the league rules.
Copyright Notice: Exclusive manuscript of "East Asian Premier League", author Zi Ang. The materials are mainly from Korean media such as Seoul Sports, ROOKIE and KBL official and their websites, and have been strongly supported by colleagues in the East Asian Super League; the pictures are from the screenshots of the relevant websites of the material, and the East Asian Premier League is used according to the practice of self-media. If you have any doubts about copyright, please deal with it immediately, and if other media or self-media need to reprint, please communicate in advance.
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