[MyDaily = Kim Geon-ho in Yongin] "I'm grateful for a happy ending," Heo Ye-eun said.
Heo Ye-eun (Cheongju KB Kookmin Bank Stars) played 35 minutes and 2 seconds and starred with 12 points and 8 assists in Game 3 of the BNK Financial 2025–2026 Women's Professional Basketball Finals against the Yongin Samsung Life Bloomings at Yongin Gymnasium on the 26th.
The KB Stars defeated Samsung Life 80–65 to clinch the championship.
Heo was steady throughout the series: she scored 18 points and handed out six assists in Game 1 and added another 18 points in Game 2.
She carried that form into Game 3 and was named Finals MVP, receiving 47 of 72 votes to claim her first Finals MVP trophy.
At the postgame press conference, Heo said she had wanted to reach this moment and enjoy it all season, and she was thankful it ended that way. "I'm still in a daze, but I feel great," she said. "People talked a lot about MVP, but we agreed not to mention it. It wouldn't have mattered if we hadn't won, so I really tried not to think about it."
Heo celebrated her second overall championship, but she noted that much has changed since the title four years ago.
"Back then my game was immature and my thinking was naive," she said. "Four years later my role is different, and I feel a greater sense of responsibility."
KB Stars faced a setback before the finals when regular-season MVP Park Ji-su was sidelined by injury. On the court, though, Heo and Kang I-seul steadied the team and helped deliver three straight wins to claim the title.
On the comparisons to Park, Heo said, "People kept labeling me in relation to Park Ji-su, and I really wanted to shake that off. It would have been nicer to win with her, but this victory still feels meaningful."
When asked who she would pick as her MVP on the team, Heo singled out Kang I-seul. "Kang often explodes in Game 3. She helps not just with scoring but on the boards as well — in some ways she sacrificed for the team. But it wasn't only Kang; a lot of players stepped up," she said.
With the domestic season over, Heo will turn her attention to the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and the 2026 Aichi–Nagoya Asian Games. The World Cup opens in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 4 (local time), and the Asian Games begin Sept. 19 in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan.
"Maybe I love basketball too much, but I wonder why something this fun isn't more popular," Heo said. "To grow the sport's popularity, we need stronger international competitiveness. If I want to help, I have to perform and produce results on the international stage. I'm really looking forward to these tournaments. It's a chance to showcase our country. I'll prepare well with my teammates and try to make some noise."
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