The country’s top basketball league finals are here.

The Korean Basketball League finals are set with the Wonju Dongbu Promy facing the Anyang KGC in a best-of-seven series starting Wednesday.

The odds are in favor of the top-seed Dongbu, which will play the first game at home on Wednesday, given its record against second-seeded KGC.

The two have met six times this season, with the Wonju side winning five games and losing just one.

The Dongbu Promy, which lost to the KCC Egis at last year’s finals, came back stronger this season, winning the regular season title with a 44-10 record, eight games ahead of the KGC. Notably, the team set a new record in the KBL with its 16th straight win this season.

Dongbu beat the Ulsan Mobis 3-1 in the playoffs to make it to its second consecutive championships finals.

The Dongbu has been riding on the shoulders of its “Big Three” ― 2.06-meter-tall center Rodrique Benson, 2.05-meter-tall forward Kim Joo-sung and 1.97-meter-tall forward Yun Ho-young ― throughout this season.

The KGC do not have many options when it comes to guarding against Benson, who averaged 19.6 points in the regular season, but it will rotate defenders such as center Chris Daniels and Oh Se-keun to stop him.

Although the KGC can find a way to stop Benson, the power forward Kim is expected to continue his 13.9 point average in the finals.

And the national team forward Kim is not only the offensive cornerstone of the Dongbu but also the leader of the team’s defense as well.

Meanwhile, the KGC, which beat the third-seed Busan KT in the playoffs to advance to the finals, will rely on rookie center Oh.

Oh’s height has been a huge part of why the KGC was able to advance into the finals for the first time in its history.

The 2-meter-tall center, who averaged 15 points and eight rebounds, has changed the team’s interior attack, and will be sure to make an impact in his first championship finals.

The KGC also has high hopes for its power forward Yang Hee-jong. The 1.94-meter-tall forward scored 18 points in the KGC’s last game against the KT to help the team win the best-of-five playoff series 3-1.

On Tuesday, KGC manager Lee Sang-bum noted that Yang’s scoring will be crucial for the team to beat the Dongbu.

“Everyone thinks we are the underdog. But we have a chance of winning. We’ll play our best to go to Game 7,” Lee added.

Dongbu manager Kang Dong-hee was careful to keep the team’s expectations low, saying he believed the finals would be tough.

“Our previous record against the KGC is not important. We’ll play hard and carefully in every game until we win the title,” Kang added.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)