A young player who has not graduated from high school is quickly adapting to the professional world. Song Yoon-ha (18, Cheongju KB Stars) has been named the MVP of the Women’s Basketball League (WKBL).
KB Stars won 58-50 against Asan Woori Bank in the final match of Hana Bank 2024-2025 Women’s Professional Basketball Futures League with TicketLink at Bucheon Gymnasium in Gyeonggi Province on the 20th.
With the victory, KB Stars won its Futures League title for two consecutive years following last year, and grabbed its sixth overall championship. This is the best record ever, far exceeding the second-ranked Samsung Life Insurance Co. (four times). It beat Samsung Life Insurance Co. (54-49) and Incheon Shinhan Bank (54-39) in Group A qualifying round to secure victory in the final.
Rookie Song Yoon-ha won the MVP of this competition. He averaged 9.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in three games at this competition, earning 21 votes out of 39 votes cast by the WKBL referee team, the game team, and on-site reporters, earning the honor of MVP. It is the first time in nine years that a first-year rookie has been named the Futures League MVP since KDB Life Jinan (currently Hana Bank) in the 2015-16 season.
In this competition, Song Yoon-ha kept under the basket with power that was not like a rookie, creating opportunities for scorers such as Lee Yoon-mi and Lee Hye-joo. Bang Bo-ram (Samsung Life Insurance), Hong Yoo-soon (Shinhan Bank), and Oh In-jeong (Woori Bank), who all matched up with him, showed good performance without being pressed at all, even though they were tough opponents.
Song Yoon-ha said in a broadcast interview after the match, “I showed such poor performance today compared to the previous game, but my sisters were so good that I was able to win the championship. Thank you to my sisters.” “Power is my strength, so I tried to play a lot using it,” he said. “I want to be the most stable player when I enter the court.”
Song, who is still a high school student, is a big man who led Sookmyung Girls’ High School to win two gold medals this year. Having dominated the high school stage by banking on his good height and power, Song is said to have good mid-range shots and a wide field of view even though he is the center. As a result, he wore a KB Stars uniform as the fifth overall pick in the first round of this year’s WKBL Rookie Draft.
At the “2024 Futures Star Awards” hosted by Star News on April 25, Song became the star player in the basketball category for the first time. “She is good at both attack and defense. She is young but still calm on the court,” the selection committee said. “She plays her own game under any circumstances.”
Song Yoon-ha, who started his professional career by playing 2:35 in a match against Samsung Life Insurance on the 10th of last month, is gradually increasing his playing time. He appeared on the stinging for the first time in the match against Shinhan Bank on the 1st, and scored 16 points in the match against BNK on the 6th of the same month. In the match against Woori Bank on the 13th, he has played more than 30 minutes and is gradually taking the main position.
KB Stars coach Kim Wan-soo said of Song Yoon-ha, “He has a lot of personalities and attitude, not like a high school student. He accepts feedback well and is smart,” adding, “I thought about using him after the break (All-Star), but I thought I could face him when big men such as (Tanimura) Ricana (Bae) Hye-yoon come out at a coaching staff meeting.”
Park Jung-eun, a former WKBL legend, said, “He looks relaxed even though he is a rookie. He is strong and doesn’t panic. I think he will grow into a good player,” adding, “I’m glad that I have a new big man.”
Amid this performance, Song Yun-ha will also challenge for the WKBL Rookie of the Year this season. Currently, Hong Yu-soon, who became the first rookie to achieve a double-double in four consecutive games, is a strong candidate, but Song Yun-ha is also gradually pursuing by increasing the playing time. 안전놀이터
