In the movie “Batman,” Batman is responsible for the safety of Gotham City, and Robin is his perfect assistant. Goyang’s Batman and Robin were Lee Jung-hyun and Onuaku, who led Sono to three straight wins.
Chinanu Onuaku (27,206 cm) scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead his team to a 78-64 victory over Seoul Samsung in the 2023-2024 regular season game at Jamsil Gymnasium on Monday. In particular, he held Samsung’s “monster” Kofi Coburn to 11 points.
Speaking after the game, Onuaku said, “I think we were able to win because the defense we planned as a team worked well. It feels good.”
Onuaku’s matchup was against Coburn. Sono had suffered a heartbreaking loss to Coburn in their first round meeting, allowing him to score 33 points and grab 14 rebounds. However, this matchup was different. They had Onuaku, a guard who was brought in as a replacement. Onuaku scored 17 points while holding Coburn to 11, especially in the decisive fourth quarter when he held Coburn scoreless.
“I’ve been watching Samsung games, but this is the first time I’ve seen him stop Coburn one-on-one without a trap, so we were able to focus on our perimeter defense more comfortably,” said Lee. It’s good,” he said, praising Onuaku’s defense.
“Coburn is a really tough, good player,” Onuaku said. We focused on pushing him out to the perimeter to reduce his dominance in the paint. Coach told me to be careful not to get into foul trouble while playing defense,” Onuaku said of playing against Coburn.
SONO extended their winning streak to three games with a victory over Samsung. Onuaku’s defense and Lee Jung-hyun’s offense were the driving forces behind Sono’s winning streak. Onuaku also praised Lee’s performance, saying that their chemistry was fantastic.
“We have good chemistry in the game, but we also have a good relationship outside of the game. We joke around in practice and get along well. He’s Batman and I’m Robin. When I joined the team, I told Lee, ‘I’m here, so play with the mindset of scoring 25 points. If we finish in the top four, I think Lee Jung-hyun can definitely win the MVP,” he said, showing off his unique chemistry with Lee.
“The next game against Hyundai Mobis is important. The best value of a basketball player is to play basketball and win. We will do our best to reduce the influence of our matchup opponent, Gage Prim,” he concluded.
