The resignation of Busan is expected to be swept up in the heat of professional sports this Saturday (29th). The home game between Lotte Giants, a professional baseball team that has recently been on the rise, and Busan I’Park, a professional football team, will be held simultaneously at Sajik Baseball Stadium and Busan Asiad Main Stadium on the afternoon of the 29th. Attention is focusing on whether the two major professional sports clubs related to Busan will give Busan fans the joy of victory.
The professional baseball Lotte Giants will play three home games against the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League Kiwoom Heroes at Sajik Baseball Stadium from the 28th to the 30th. Saturday the 29th game starts at 5pm.
Busan I-Park of the professional soccer K-League 2 will play the 9th round of the 2023 season against Ansan Greeners FC at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium at 4:00 pm on the same day.
Lotte succeeded in laying the foundation for the leap to the top by winning the first 4 consecutive wins of the recent season. From the 21st to the 23rd, it is on the rise with a sweep in the away game against the NC Dinos held at NC Park in Changwon. Lotte won a sweep in 6 years after 3 consecutive home games in June 2017 in the ‘Nakdong River Derby’ against NC. It was also the first time in 10 years since April 2013, the first year of NC’s first team, that all three consecutive matches were won in Changwon.
Despite the sluggishness of starting pitching staff such as foreign pitcher Dan Straley, Charlie Barnes, and Park Se-woong, Lotte is steadily accumulating multipliers amidst the performance of gyetoojo such as Kim Sang-soo, Kim Jin-wook, Shin Jeong-rak, Yoon Myeong-jun, and Choi Jun-yong. In particular, third-year left-handed pitcher Kim Jin-wook plays a key role in the system먹튀검증 by blocking 3 innings and 2 innings without conceding, respectively, in the KIA Tigers and NC matches on the 20th and 23rd. Since the opening of the season, Kim Jin-wook has pitched in relief in 7 games and has not given up a single point in 9 innings, recording an ERA of ‘0’.
Recently, Lotte has been reviving its performance with concentrated hits added in the second half of the game. Based on this momentum, Lotte completed two of the three consecutive matches against NC with a pleasant come-from-behind victory. With veteran batters such as Noh Jin-hyeok and Ahn Chi-hong on base, and fast runners such as Ahn Kwon-soo and Hwang Seong-bin, Lotte’s team competitiveness is strengthening in the second half of April.
The momentum of K-League 2 Busan is fierce. Busan won 3-1 in an away game against Seongnam FC on the 22nd thanks to Brazilian striker Pesin’s 1 goal and 1 assist. Busan, which had been undefeated for six consecutive games since the opening of this season, slowed down after being hit in an away game against Gimpo FC (0-1 loss) on the 19th, but immediately defeated Seongnam and laid the foundation for a rebound.
Busan is ranked 4th in the league with 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss, including 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the last 3 matches. With a 3-point difference from 1st place manager Kim Cheon (18 points, 6 wins, 2 losses), the competition for the top spot in the K-League 2 is expected to ignite even more if they win against Ansan on the weekend. The opposing team, Ansan, remains in 10th place with 8 points (2 wins, 2 draws, 4 losses), so Busan’s chances of winning are even higher.
Busan is growing into a strong team this season as the Brazilian striker duo Pesin and Lamas are added to the offensive power of locals Choi Geon-joo, Choi Ki-yoon and Kim Chan. Pesin and Lamas lead the team’s offense with 4 goals and 1 assist and 3 goals and 2 assists, respectively.
Head coach Park Jin-seop of Busan and the players, who are aiming for promotion to K-League 1 this season, are determined to capture Ansan in front of their home fans and jump to the top.