Bautus Leads Samsung`s Victory over Shinsegae

Shinsegae must have felt bitter watching Bautus lead Samsung Life to snatch an easy victory over their team. The two teams were in a clash of egos earlier over which team would keep the 1.93-meter-tall foreign player.

In the first showdown since the clash, Bautus indeed proved her worthiness. In a match between Samsung Life and Shinsegae held in Suwon Gymnasium on July 14, Bautus helped her team snatch a landslide victory over Shinsegae with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals.

Oxana, Shinsegae`s pick, scored 18 points. Having score 42 points in an earlier match with Hyundai, this time she was seen as overwhelmed by Bautus.

˝We must win this time given the haggling over pickup of foreign players,˝ said Lee Mun-gyu, head coach of Shinsegae. Lee, in fact, criticized Samsung`s picking Bautus, citing the team violated the unwritten agreement.

But the game of basketball was not just about a clash of egos. Star-studded Samsung Life led the game from the beginning and won an 89-72 landslide victory, recording the third consecutive win.

Samsung Life`s Kim Gye-ryung also led the team with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Lee Mi-sun, Byun Yeon-ha and Park Jung-eun also did their bits, scoring 17, 11 and 8 points respectively.

With its key player Jung Sun-min gone to join American professional league, Shinsegae was pushed out under the goal post by 35-42 and failed to mark Kim Gye-ryung.

Samsung, after chased by 34-32 in the latter part of the second quarter, finished the first half by 44-36. In the second half, it started to lead by 19 points in the third quarter, with Park Jung-eun and Bautus leading the team.

Meantime, Park Jung-eun became the sixth player to record 1,000 rebounds in the match.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com