Choosing 'talent over team'
In May 2021, the head of Hyundai Capital's Skywalkers front office visited Bong Eunsa Temple in Samseong-dong, Seoul. It was a ritual for them to visit and pray for good luck just before the rookie or foreigner draft. On May 4, the V-League Foreign Player Draft was scheduled to take place at the Rivera Hotel in Cheongdam-dong, near Bongunsa Temple. This time, however, their prayers were different from the usual: "Please don't let the number one pick come to our team.

The top pick in that year's draft was undoubtedly "Cuban Express" Leo. The lineage of foreign players in Samsung Fire's "V8 era" was Angelko-Gavin-Leo. The team that drafted Leo, who was 31 years old at the time, was able to quickly rise to the top of the championship. Moreover, Hyundai Capital had finished sixth out of seven in the previous season. 온라인카지노 It was probabilistically the second-best team (many marbles behind last-place Samsung Fire).