Korean Air is struggling between Maxim Zigalov (35, registered name Maksim) and Yosvani Hernandez (33, registered name Yosvani) ahead of the selection of foreign players.
This is because Yosvani, who was diagnosed with a right shoulder injury for six to eight weeks earlier this season, recently joined the team’s training, and it is time to decide between Yosvani or Maxim.
Korean Air recruited Maxim as a temporary replacement when Yosvani, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the foreign player draft in May, was out of the team due to injury after two games.
Immediately after joining the team, Maxim met the expectations of Tommy Tilikainen (37) with his hot attack.
He took the lead in the 3-1 victory against KB Insurance on November 13, the day after entering the country, and also led the team to 3-1 victory by hunting 34 points, the most by both teams, on the 15th against Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance.
Since joining Korean Air, Maxim has scored 252 points (average 22.9 points per game) in a total of 11 games, with an average attack success rate of 48.06%.
This is slightly lower than the 48 points (average 24 points per game) and the 56% average attack success rate recorded by Josbani in the two games before injury.
The fact that Maxim and Yosvani have distinct advantages and disadvantages makes it difficult for Korean Air to choose.
Maxim, a former member of the Russian national team, is a “left-handed” apogit spiker favored by coach Tilikainen and has a good ability to handle difficult balls.
On the other hand, it is somewhat less destructive and has more mistakes than Josbani.
Yosvani is a proven big gun who has been playing in 메이저놀이터 Korea for five seasons, averaging 26.1 points per game in his career performance.
However, Yosvani’s weakness is that the risk of injury remains.
Korean Air plans to finally decide between Maxim and Yosvani after watching the home game with KB Insurance on the 29th, the last game of the third round.
“We plan to make a comprehensive decision after consulting with all members, including the front desk, after listening to the opinions of the team, including coach Tilichainen,” a Korean Air official said. “So far, we don’t know which player will be selected.”
One of the important indicators of the two players’ choices is their competitiveness in the Hyundai Capital match, which is likely to face off in the championship game.
This is because Hyundai Capital has to overcome for Korean Air, which is seeking to win its fifth consecutive victory.
Maxim showed some weakness with only 29 points (average 14.5 points per game) in the two games against Hyundai Capital.
In particular, in the Christmas showdown, which was the biggest big match in the third round, the attack success rate was also low at 20% amid the worst slump of five points.
It is evaluated that Yosvani also showed relatively weakness compared to other teams in the 2023-2024 season against Hyundai Capital, when he was a member of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance.
SBS Sports commentator Choi Chun-sik said, “The two players have different colors and other teams can take players who don’t catch them, so Korean Air will have to worry a lot,” adding, “As there is a high possibility of facing Hyundai Capital in the championship match, that may be an important consideration.”
