Carl Tamayo and the Changwon LG Sakers are KBL champions for the first time, beating the Seoul SK Knights in Game 7 after initially losing a 3-0 series lead.
No historic collapse for Carl Tamayo's KBL team.
Tamayo and the Changwon LG Sakers made sure of that after hammering out a 62-58 road win in Game 7 to capture the 2024-25 Korean Basketball League championship on Saturday, May 17.
The Filipino import churned out a double-double outing, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with two assists and two steals as Changwon emerged as KBL champions for the first time franchise history even after squandering a 3-0 lead.
One of LG Sakers’ seasoned cagers, Heo Il-young topscored with 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Yu Ki-Sang added 12 points and Yang Junseok scored 11.
At the line with 8.5 ticks left to play, Yu canned the two pressure-packed free throws that sealed the championship for the second-seeded Changwon.
Jameel Warney, the hero in the Game 6 win for the SK Knights, tried to heave one from the three-point area as time expired but it hit nothing but the board.
Warney finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. Kim Hyung-bin also chimed in 11 points for the team that rallied from a 0-3 deficit and forced a sudden death.
Unfortunately for the SK Knights, the LG Sakers overcame the immense pressure and delivered when it mattered the most.
With the win, Tamayo joined Rhenz Abando as Filipino imports to win a KBL title. Abando won in 2023 with the Anyang Red Boosters, ironically also in Game 7 against Seoul.
Tamayo also extended his championship pedigree in Korea, after also winning the B.LEAGUE championship in 2023 with the Ryukyu Golden Kings.