Retired basketball stars to renew rivalry

SEOUL, June 20 (Yonhap) -- Retired stars who played for the country's two biggest college basketball programs in the 1990s will renew their rivalry in an exhibition match this weekend, organizers said Monday.
The local cable station XTM said it has brought together former players from Korea University and Yonsei University for a made-for-television contest this Sunday in Seoul.
The match at Jamsil Students' Gymnasium will be held under the slogan "Again 1995! Korea-Yonsei Basketball Derby."
The annual derby between the two schools started in October 1965. The rivalry especially heated up in the early to mid-1990s when professional hoops had not yet taken off in the country and annual national tournaments were the main attraction.
Yonsei became the first school to win the Grand Basketball Festival, a major national tournament for semi-pro and amateur clubs, during the 1993-94 season. Though Korea University never won a title during the decade, it was among the biggest threats to Yonsei's title aspirations.
Both schools produced All-Stars for the Korean Basketball League (KBL), the top pro circuit founded in 1997. For Sunday's match, retired KBL stars from the two schools will take the floor.
Korea University's team will be led by guard Kim Byung-chul and forward Chun Hee-chul, both long-time KBL All-Stars and currently assistant coaches in the league. Yonsei's squad will include Moon Kyung-eun and Woo Ji-won, who are ranked first and second all-time in three-point field goals made in the KBL.
Kim Dong-kwang, an executive with the KBL, will coach the Korea University team, and Park Su-gyo, a former Yonsei star and now a TV analyst, will be on the bench for Yonsei.
XTM said the contest is designed to help revive interest in basketball, which has taken a backseat to baseball, football and volleyball in recent years.
"Hopefully this match will help Korean basketball take the next step," Kim said at a press conference. "We will show the fans what the rivalry is all about."
Jeong Jae-geun, one of Yonsei's veterans, said the upcoming game has taken him back in time and that he could already sense tension building up.
"I hope a lot of fans will come down and enjoy our rivalry once again," Jeong said.
jeeho@yna.co.kr