SBS’s "Rising Eagles" wrapped on the 17th after a season built around a simple mission: real basketball, not just a celebrity pickup game. Korean hoops legend Seo Jang-hoon took the helm as head coach, with a roster of K-pop stars and entertainers committing to the grind.
# A Year in the Making, a Team Is Born
From the jump, Season 1 was an uphill climb. For roughly a year, producers and Coach Seo personally recruited talent one by one, piecing together a squad despite jam-packed filming schedules, concerts, and drama shoots. Late nights bled into early mornings as the team kept sneaking in practices. Even on dark days without cameras, the drills didn’t stop―and somewhere along the way, a TV cast turned into a real basketball team.
# Season 1: The Game Log
"Rising Eagles" stacked real reps against top-tier opponents, at home and abroad.
Kicking off against BPM―linked with multi-hyphenate star J.Y. Park―the team then battled elite Korean amateur powerhouses including Gimhae Masters, J-Crew, and the Owls. Win or lose, the show played it straight, and viewers watched the growth in real time: sharper schemes, tighter chemistry, and a squad steadily evolving from novelty to legit.
# The Season Peak: A Philippines Showdown
The finale took over the SM Mall of Asia Arena, where 15,000 fans packed the stands. It was more than a friendly―it was a shared basketball moment that lit up the building.
Facing a Philippine side, "Rising Eagles" found common ground through the game itself. As the players put it, performing real, high-stakes basketball in front of a sea of fans was unforgettable.
# Season 1 Ends―The Challenge Doesn’t
Production company CU Media Group called Season 1 a marathon: a tough concept and tougher shoot, powered by pure love of the game and countless sweat-soaked nights. The authenticity resonated with viewers and fans―and the momentum isn’t stopping. The producers and Coach Seo are already gearing up for Season 2, aiming for a bigger stage and a deeper brand of basketball.
The next chapter of "Rising Eagles" has already tipped off, with more courts and more people to play the game with.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)
댓글