▲ Lee Kwan-hee defending against Park Mu-bin
After taking a brief pause following a nine-game opening winning streak, the Seoul Samsung Thunders quickly resumed their winning momentum, tying the KBL record for the fewest games to reach 10 wins.
Samsung defeated the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus 81-76 in an away match of the 2026-2027 KCC Professional Basketball regular season at Ulsan Dongcheon Gymnasium.
Having suffered a setback against the Seoul SK Knights in their previous game that halted their winning streak, Samsung bounced back with this victory to improve to 10-1, firmly maintaining sole possession of first place.
Reaching 10 wins in just 11 games marks the seventh time in KBL history that a team has achieved the milestone in the fewest games, following teams like the Wonju DB Promy in the 2023-2024 season and the Goyang Orion in the 2015-2016 season.
In addition, Samsung extended its away winning streak to seven games, matching the club's record for most consecutive away wins originally set on January 1, 2009.
On the other hand, Hyundai Mobis, struggling after key foreign players Gage Prim and Darius Bazley both went down with injuries, remained at the bottom of the standings with a 3-8 record.
Hyundai Mobis signed Omari Spellman as a temporary replacement player for Prim and deployed him right away in the game.
Spellman, who previously played for teams like the Anyang KGC, showed light movements on the KBL court after a long absence starting from the first quarter. Thanks to his performance, Hyundai Mobis kept pace with Samsung at 18-16 by the end of the first quarter.
In the second and third quarters, where two foreign players step onto the court simultaneously, the game unfolded with Samsung leveraging its rebounding superiority to attack the paint, while Hyundai Mobis persistently chased with perimeter shooting.
During the second quarter, while Samsung's perimeter shots went silent, Hyundai Mobis sank three three-pointers, finishing the half trailing 38-35.
In the ensuing third quarter, Kerem Kanter recorded an early double-double as Samsung clearly showed its dominance under the basket, widening the gap to 9 points at 62-53.
In the crucial fourth quarter, Hyundai Mobis tightened the chase, spearheaded by perimeter shots from Seo Myung-jin and Kim Kyung-won.
However, Samsung's Lee Kwan-hee, who spent the second and third quarters on the bench, stepped onto the court and flashed a hot shooting touch by pouring in 12 points in the fourth quarter alone, halting the opponent's momentum.
Hyundai Mobis chased tenaciously until the end, narrowing the deficit to 4 points at 80-76 with 37 seconds remaining in the game following a three-pointer by Seo Myung-jin and an inside basket by Kim Kyung-won, but ran out of time.
For Samsung, Kanter dominated the paint with 32 points and 12 rebounds, while Lee Kwan-hee added 14 points and Han Ho-bin contributed 13 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds to secure the win.
For Hyundai Mobis, Spellman put up 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, with Seo Myung-jin scoring 20 points and Kim Kyung-won adding 15 points, but their strong efforts were not enough to overturn the match.
(Photo: Provided by KBL, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.