“I have been playing with high-level players in overseas leagues and my skills have improved significantly.”
NH Nonghyup Bank 2025 KXO 3x3 Hongcheon Light Quest was held on the 11th at the special court of Tori Forest City Park in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province. A total of 12 teams gathered from around the world were divided into four groups to compete in the preliminaries, and eight teams advanced to the tournament to compete for the championship.
In the final, Widerrecht (Netherlands) defeated Jump Shot (Singapore) 21-17 to win the championship. The winning team Widerrecht was awarded a spot in the Jakarta Challenger.
The Korean representative, Seoul Cosmos, achieved its goal of advancing to the quarterfinals. Seoul lost 14-21 to Sagamihara (Japan) in the quarterfinals and could not reach the semifinals.
Another Korean representative, Hongcheon, was eliminated in the preliminaries with two losses. Hongcheon performed well despite losing 15-20 against the strong Dutch team Widerrecht in the first match. In the second match, Hongcheon suffered a major defeat against Singapore's Jump Shot, losing 5-21.
It is common for Korean players to play in Korean teams, but it is rare for them to play in foreign teams. There is only one Korean player in the Philippines' Half Court Group, attracting significant attention.
The main character is Kim Han-sung. He was a talented player who played elite basketball with his peers Park Jun-young and Jeon Hyun-woo during his time at Korea University. After an early end to his dream of turning professional due to a back injury, he worked as a high school physical education teacher after graduating from college before entering the Thai professional basketball league, giving him a unique career.
Kim Han-sung, belonging to the Philippines' Half Court Group, also took on the challenge of 3x3 basketball for the first time. After losing 13-21 to Sagamihara from Japan in the first match, the Half Court Group defeated Singapore 20-15 in the second match. With one win and one loss, the Half Court Group successfully advanced to the quarterfinals.
The Half Court Group closed out the tournament with a loss of 10-21 against Cheverny in the quarterfinals. Cheverny showcased a dunk show with overwhelming height advantage. Kim Han-sung showed his determination even after falling onto the advertising board while chasing the ball. Kim Han-sung said, “3x3 is much tougher and physically demanding. This is my first real 3x3 tournament, and I had fun” with a smile.
After graduating from Korea University, he worked as a high school physical education teacher. He ventured to Thailand to obtain an agent certification and went on to the Thai professional league. He gathered retired players to establish the 'Bisons' and even became the representative.
With many stories, Kim Han-sung noted, “I think my skills have improved as I gained a lot of experience overseas. I played in Thailand and faced many high-level players in a league without restrictions on foreign players. It became an opportunity for me to enhance my skills.”
He quickly adapted to the new challenge of 3x3 basketball. Kim Han-sung showcased such impressive performance that it was hard to believe it was his first game. He explained, “Our team has many friends skilled in shooting. Some have played in Philippine professional basketball for a long time. Since I am shorter, we strategized to use speedy plays and shooting.”
His constant challenges in new fields are serving as an inspiration to many retired athletes.
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