Juan Gomez de Liaño, Seoul go 2-0 in KBL opening weekend  

MANILA, Philippines – Juan Gomez de Liaño’s stint in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) got off on the right foot as his Seoul SK Knights opened the 2023-2024 season with back-to-back victories over the weekend.

Gomez de Liaño, who previously played for the BC Wolves in Lithuania, racked up 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in his KBL debut on Saturday, October 21, against Rhenz Abando and the defending champion Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters. 

Abando, for his part, tallied 12 points on 5-of-14 field goal clip, 5 rebounds, and 1 block, but his double-digit output wasn’t enough to help Anyang as Seoul defeated them in dominant fashion, 89-74.

Gomez de Liaño and the SK Knights then followed up their 15-point opening-day win with a tight 85-80 victory over Dave Ildefonso’s Suwon KT Sonicboom on Sunday.

The former UP Fighting Maroons star Gomez de Liaño finished with 10 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals this time, while Ildefonso wasn’t fielded in the contest. 

Ildefonso and the Sonicboom split their opening weekend assignments as they got the better of Justin Gutang and the Changwon LG Sakers on Saturday, 71-66.

Both players, however, saw limited action for their respective teams as Ildefonso played only a total of 1:33 minutes, while Gutang grabbed just 2 rebounds in over six minutes of play. 

Meanwhile, SJ Belangel saw his high-scoring performance wasted as his Daegu KOGAS Pegasus suffered an 87-62 loss to the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus on Saturday.

Belangel dropped a game-high 20 points on an efficient 9-of-11 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in the losing effort.

Finally, Filipino-American guard Ethan Alvano and the Wonju DB Promy took down Joshua Torralba’s Goyang Sono Sky Gunners on Sunday, 110-89.

Alvano posted 15 points, 1 rebound, 7 assists, and 1 block, while Torralba sat out. – Rappler.com