Daegu KOGAS unveiled one-half of its prized acquisitions in Lee Daesung at a press conference on Friday.
Lee was acquired by the Pegasus via a trade with the Goyang Orion Orions as a countermeasure for Kim Nakhyeon’s departure due to mandatory service.
The 32-year-old Lee has the potential to more than make up for losing Kim as he averaged 17.0 points per game last season.
“He is a veteran of the national team and has a great ability to play make, score, and be a leader,” said head coach Yoo Dohoon as translated by Korean basketball Twitter personality, Heoball.
Meanwhile, Yoo is also looking forward to having Belangel on board. The 22-year-old floor general will arrive in Daegu after the Asia Cup.
“He is young and has great potential,” said Yoo. “He displayed an amazing ability to score in clutch situations with the Philippine national team.
“He is a good shot creator and has the ability to facilitate and orchestrate systematic plays.”
Yoo also added that he plans to start both Lee and Belangel as their 1-2 punch in the backcourt.
“We plan to play Lee and SJ together; Lee at the two and SJ at the one.
“Considering their strength and weakness, we expect them to adjust as they learn to play together,” said the
Lee is all too familiar with Belangel, having faced him twice during the Clark window of the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
“When I played him, he was very active and showed many abilities on the court,” he said.
“His game-winning shot was impressive.”
With two alphas now sharing the backcourt, Lee knows that they have to co-exist to lift KOGAS to at least a top-four finish.
And the 6-foot-4 winger can’t wait to play alongside his former opponent.
“The challenge is now to both learn to play together in our new environment.”
