Features

I made a TWICE WNBA team on NBA 2K22

Because I can

Published

October 1, 2021

One of the best things about NBA 2K22 is how you can customize certain things so you can enjoy it the way you want to. So, that’s exactly what I did by creating a TWICE WNBA team.

Creating teams and players on basketball simulation games is a long-time hobby I shared with my brother. This dates back to the days of EA Sports’ NBA Live franchise being the more popular game. Back then, we created every notable player from the animé Slam Dunk.

Fast forward to a few decades years later, I’m putting a new spin on the hobby. I’ve been enamored with K-Pop girl group TWICE for close to four years now. Thankfully, NBA 2K introduced WNBA in NBA 2K21 and improved upon it in NBA 2K22, letting me do what possibly no one else will.

Character creation rules

TWICE aren’t exactly that tall, so for this exercise I added one foot (12 inches/ 30.48cm) to their listed heights. At least, that’s what I did for members listed at around 162cm and up from various, and mostly inconsistent sources online. For the tiny TWICE line — I shaved off a few inches to match better with the average height of point guards in the WNBA. I’m sorry Jihyo, Dahyun, and Chaeyoung!

For their faces, it was impossible to recreate the actual visuals of TWICE just from the tools provided by 2K. So, forgive me if they look nothing like the real deal. TWICE, after all, are visual queens.

When it comes to the rest of their looks, I compiled and took inspiration from some of their sporty or sports-related outfits. As for the hairstyles, this one is tricky since it frequently changes. So, I just picked a mish-mash of personal favorites as well as the more colorful ones for each member to make them more distinct. The hair options are also limited so I did what I could.

For their skills and abilities, I intended to scale their abilities to existing WNBA stars. I enlisted the help of sportswriter Levi Verora Jr. who’s been following the WNBA for years now to make this happen. I listed the characteristics of each TWICE member based on various information we know of them. I then asked Verora to provide names of players that fit the bell in terms of skills and abilities.

These skills and looks are all detailed below. As usual, we’re going by age order so that’s: NaJeongMoSaJiMiDaChaeTzu.

TWICE as basketball players

Nayeon — Position: Guard/Forward

There’s something about Nayeon that just screams STAR. Yes, she sings the line “I’m gonna be a star” over and over but “gonna be” doesn’t seem accurate because she’s always been a star. Being TWICE’s center and face of the group, it seems fit that she will be this WNBA team’s ace and star player. In basketball, it sometimes comes to a point where the play breaks down and one player has to make something out of nothing. This is Nayeon’s role. When it’s late in the shot clock, get her the ball, get out of the way, and watch her work.

Shades of: Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty

Jeongyeon — Position: Power Forward/Center

Jeongyeon has always been known as the member who loves cleaning and looks after the rest of TWICE. There’s a term called glass-cleaner which means a person who’s great at getting rebounds. This is Jeongyeon’s best skill, controlling the boards so TWICE can control the game. She’s also their best post operator. If the team needs a basket in the paint, Jeongyeon is their go-to person making her an unstoppable Interior Force.

Shades of: Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun

Momo — Position: Forward

Momo is a tweener with a unique blend of attributes. As the main dancer, she’s physically gifted and moves with absolute grace and precision. She plays defense the way she dances — giving it her all without any wasted movement. In one of the episodes of Time To TWICE (the group’s own variety show on YouTube), she’s also displayed the ability to shoot the long ball. She’s a 3-and-D player of the highest caliber.

Shades of: Candace Parker, Chicago Sky / Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics

Sana — Position: Forward/Center

Versatile and a boundless source of energy with a killer stage presence, Sana is often the X-Factor whenever she’s on the floor. In the same manner that she captures attention while performing on stage, she always comes up with big plays that make the crowd go wild. She also excels in a lot of the things that don’t always show on the statsheet. You should always be wary of Sana’s presence because as fellow member Mina once said, “Sana is dangerous.”

Shades of: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

Jihyo — Position: Point Guard

Jihyo is TWICE’s main vocalist and leader. She plays the role of the floor general directing traffic and loudly calling out plays. Jihyo manages the game unlike any other, knowing when to get her teammates going and when to take matters into her own hands. Jihyo can pass, score, and defend. She’s a primary playmaker that literally does it all earning her the nickname Point God Jihyo.

Shades of:: Sue Bird, Seattle Storm

Mina — Position: Forward/Guard

Ever heard of the saying “she makes everything look easy”? Well, Mina makes everything look pretty. An image of absolute perfection and elegance, Mina lulls defenders to sleep with her moves on the court. She has the prettiest jumper and has the fanciest finishes. Also known as the smartest member of the group, her basketball IQ is off the charts moonlighting as a secondary playmaker to keep the flow of the offense moving.

Shades of: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury

Dahyun — Position: Guard

Dahyun is one half of TWICE’s deadly DubChaeng combo. An underrated ace, Dahyun is an all-around talent that gives opponents hell on both offense and defense. She’s a crowd favorite that never fails to get the fans going. But her unique skill — derived from her known ability to spot cameras everywhere — is her Eagle Eye that lets her map the floor. With it, she knows exactly where everyone is on the basketball court at any given time giving her and her team a tactical advantage.

Shades of:: Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces

Chaeyoung — Position: Guard

Chaeyoung is the other half of TWICE’s DubChaeng combo. She’s often at the wrong end of height jokes, but what she lacks in size she more than makes up for in talent. Chayoung is also an underrated ace that can do absolutely anything and everything on the floor. This makes her an undeniable pintsize powerhouse. She’s also extremely fast — as she demonstrated that one time on ISAC — leaving defenders biting her dust before they know what hit them.

Shades of:: Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings

Tzuyu — Position: Center

Tzuyu’s often meek demeanor betrays her colossal stature. As the tallest member TWICE, she is their Tower of Power protecting the paint with savage blocks that sends shivers down opponents’ spines. Players often think twice before attacking the rim when Tzuyu is patrolling it. On offense, she leaves the paint and spaces the floor as an archer with an accurate aim from long distance with a picture perfect catch-and-shoot release.

Shades of: Liz Cambage, Las Vegas Aces

What about the other roster spots?

Typically, there are 12 to 15 roster spots for each team. That meant there are three active roster spots and three more reserve spots to fill. I initially toyed with the idea of adding Itzy to the lineup but having to put two from Itzy in the reserve list didn’t sit right with me.

I also thought about selecting three members from Sixteen that were in the final stage but weren’t selected. Ultimately, I decided it was too much work and just left three players from the Last Vegas Aces with the least overall rating.

Why the Las Vegas Aces?

Actual team creation isn’t exactly allowed for the WNBA unlike for the NBA. For the NBA version, NBA 2K lets you upload your own assets. Since I couldn’t do this, I just picked the team that I thought had the closest color scheme to TWICE’s. Also, the name “Aces” seems to fit TWICE, don’t you think?

For their jersey numbers, each member has their favorite number listed on various sources. These are numbers they’ve had since debut according to Twitter user @misayeon — a kor-eng translator fan account that’s a known reliable source for updates on TWICE.

Can I play as them too?

The roster file is available to download for PlayStation 5 players (not sure about PlayStation 4) with the name TWICE WNBA under username setshotrod.

Here’s a quick gameplay video:

Related Topics:Chaeyoung Dahyun Jeongyeon Jihyo Mina Momo Nayeon NBA 2K22 Sana TWICE Tzuyu WNBA

Features

Can the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Survive?

REDMI Titan Durability Challenge!

Published

January 17, 2026

GadgetMatch and Michael Josh Villanueva

As someone who travels and is outdoors a lot, THE Michael Josh will be the first to admit that he is NOT gentle with his phones.

They live in his pockets, bags, hands. They get dropped, they get wet, and they get dusty.

So when REDMI asked him to test something they call “REDMI Titan Durability,” he figured the only fair way to do it was to put the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G to the ultimate durability test.

Reviews

POCO M8 Pro review: Goin’ loco over this POCO

POCO starts 2026 with some bang

Published

January 15, 2026

Vincenz

Looking back at my first few months with GadgetMatch back in 2018 nostalgically evoked my Pocophone F1 core memory. It was touted as THE “flagship killer for less.”

Pre-pandemic, that “Pocophone” simply became “POCO” and became an “independent” kiddo who moved out of its parent’s house.

Almost eight years after that very first iteration, I’ve finally had my first (and long overdue) POCO-perience with the latest POCO M8 Pro.

Design: Repurposed with a purpose

While I have not held a POCO phone until very recently, I am still aware of the brand’s offerings over the years.

Seeing the POCO M8 Pro for the first time instantly reminded me of last year’s Redmi Note 14 Pro series. That’s not me saying POCO blatantly ripped the aesthetics as the POCO X7 also had the same design language.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Like a full circle moment, the aforementioned phones were launched back a year ago.

In all honesty, it still confuses me which direction Xiaomi is heading, especially with the non-stop rebadging of existing POCO and REDMI phones — just with scrambled internals and CMF (color, materials, finish).

Having said that, I still consider the M8 Pro a level up from the last M7 Pro. The former’s design felt like it was not given much importance.

The centered camera island with a squircle cutout seemed like a signature design element of Xiaomi’s newer midrange line moving forward.

I also love how the phone felt in my hands. Even with that plastic back, it felt grippy enough when held.

You have to be wary of fingerprint smudges though — especially if you rock the black colorway. Luckily, the green shade I have still looks clean despite those unwanted smears.

And, if you’re brave enough to clean it in running water, the POCO M8 Pro boasts not just one, not two, but quadruple IP ratings: IP66, IP68, IP69, and even IP69K. These used to be exclusive only among 2025 flagships.

Now Playing: IDOL I

Much like my fanaticism to anything tech, the same can be said with Korean Pop Stars. More known as “K-Pop Idols”, I have been a huge geek of K-Pop for 16 long years (and still counting).

Interestingly, after finishing a series that just ended in Netflix, IDOL I swiftly came by. Even if I am the type of viewer who values the drama’s synopsis more than the cast involved, this K-Drama instantly hit two birds in one.

For one, its starred by a true iconic idol herself: Choi Sooyoung — or one of the nine members of SNSD / Girls’ Generation a.k.a the ultimate 2nd generation K-Pop girl group I’ve been stanning since my youth.

Although Maeng Se-na here is a heartless and “selfish” lawyer, she is the opposite for being a huge (yet silent) fan of “Gold Boys” with Do Ra-ik as his “Ult” (or Ultimate Bias).

In a wild turn of events, the idol became a “murderer” overnight — blaming him for the sudden death of his co-member after waking up from their drinking session.

But, no matter how the general public looks at him as the prime suspect, finding faults against Ra-ik is difficult. That’s pointing out the fact that he was just sleeping in his bed while his former bandmate slash loyal friend got stabbed without clear answers.

I can pretty much say the same thing with the 6.83-inch screen of the POCO M8 Pro: I cannot see any fault at all.

For one, it’s an AMOLED display that made me enjoy binging the first four episodes non-stop. But, being able to display 68.7 billion Colors and 12-bit color depth aside from the usual HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support? That’s likely unusual for a phone in such price point.

And, with a 1.5K display resolution plus a pixel density of 447 ppi, it’s as crisp as it could get. Watching it outdoors is neither a problem with its mighty 3200 nits peak brightness.

While my eyes aren’t very sensitive to light and flicker, its 3840Hz PWM dimming and TÜV Rheinland Flicker-Free and Low Blue Light certifications are still worth mentioning — especially if you stay up all night binge-watching hours worth of titles like yours truly.

On Queue: Apink’s RE:LOVE + Chuu’s XO, My Cyberlove

Pumping up the volume by 60%, it’s expected that the POCO M8 Pro possesses a louder than ever sound output. However, my audio assessment doesn’t end just there.

Just like POCO starting the year with a bang, the K-Pop scene in January 2026 has already exploded with real hit bangers.

First and foremost, Apink finally gathered again to released their 11th Mini Album (their previous Mini Album dates back to 2020). As per usual, I used Apple Music to take full advantage of that Lossless format.

Their title track “Love Me More” not only brought a lot of the group’s nostalgic intro and dance break instrumental during their early days in the industry, it also reminded me of the pre-millennium K-Pop era back in the early 90s.

Pair that with b-sides such as “Sunshine” that sounded pure and soulful, this latest mini album will truly make Pink Pandas’ hearts flutter.

In addition, Chuu (LOONA) finally releases her 1st Full Album titled “XO, My Cyberlove.” It is a complete opposite of her first ever solo song “Heart Attack” almost a decade ago which highlighted her cutesy, innocent charms.

The comeback track of the same title is as quirky and whimsical as it gets. Not only does it highlight Chuu’s light yet ethereal vocals, but it shows her newer, more mature side.

Furthermore, lyrics that evoke unexpected budding love in this digital era where everyone enjoys making connections through the cyber world.

With POCO M8 Pro’s speakers, I fully enjoyed playing the entirety of her freshly-baked album while I was writing this piece. Teeny Tiny Heart and Love Potion are currently my fave b-sides from this release.

Such music fulfillment was possible with the Dolby Atmos stereo speaker setup and Hi-Res Audio support of the M8 Pro. Not only its proudly loud, the audio produced is full and immaculate with clear line between its highs, mids, and lows.

Performance: Adequate for most

On paper, the POCO M8 Pro runs Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 SoC based on a 4nm process. As confusing as it seems, this is different from the more powerful Snapdragon 7 Gen 4.

That being told, game settings will vary depending on how demanding one is.

For instance, CoDM (Call of Duty: Mobile) runs in Very High and Max settings upon first set-up.

Meanwhile, Racing Master (based on NVIDIA’s PhysX engine) can run Ultra settings at 60fps.

However, it throttles during the first two ranked races.

Fortunately, the game detects if it gets sluggish — suggesting lowering down the settings altogether.

Lastly, playing Zenless Zone Zero is doable but, at the lowest graphics by default.

You wouldn’t dare to go past it as Combat Mode will literally feel like combatting the phone itself due to how heavy the game is.

The only “remedy” for these hardware limitations? It’s none other than the Game Turbo mode that boosts graphics performance and input through Xiaomi’s software advancements. And it sort of helped make the gameplay smoother, but not fully.

For the rest of apps that are not graphics-intensive, the M8 Pro can breeze through various apps without hiccups, do split-screens, or multitasking along floating windows with ease.

I can truthfully say that the only thing dragging the POCO M8 Pro down is the software as a whole.

After experiencing the beauty of vivo’s OriginOS 6 and HONOR’s MagicOS 10, Xiaomi’s HyperOS still feels like an after-thought. While it can keep up with the modern-day Android features, its stability and optimizations simply don’t make the cut.

Besides, its built-in AI tools, device ecosystem, as well as cross-compatibility functionality aren’t as polished as what you get on other Chinese brands. Let alone, a rip-off from everyone’s fruit rival without much feature improvements.

Seriously, Xiaomi?

Worst thing? Maybe the ad slash bloatware infestation found not just on the lock screen. Even transferring personal files through Xiaomi’s native File Manager app plays an unskippable ad.

Battery: Eat it up! Eat it, eat it up! 🍝🎶

At 8.31mm, the POCO M8 Pro is as slender as it can get. How they were able to fit a 6500mAh battery inside its chassis is a true feat of engineering.

For the record, this is the first POCO M-series smartphone to have such a ginormous battery. It joins the same league as the POCO F8 Ultra, F7, and the X7 Pro (in India).

For added context, the M7 Pro, as well as the X7 with a similar form factor, only had a 5110mAh battery. But, numbers are just part of the story.

In day-to-day scenarios with light to moderate usage, the POCO M8 Pro can last you a full day — even more when you hit the bed with around 30% to spare.

As one would expect though, the biggest hogging can be felt when playing games.

During my gameplay stress test, downloading resources in Racing Master for about 30 minutes already consumed 5% charge (92% down to 87%). An hour of racing ate up 11 percent — from 87% down to 76%.

Letting it rest on my desk for 18 hours, the phone depleted to 51%.

At around 9 in the evening, I then started playing HoYoverse’s Zenless Zone Zero for exactly an hour. Battery charge went down further to 36%. Then, a 1.5-hour game in CoDM resulted to a 28% battery percentage. And, as of writing, the POCO M8 Pro still had a 3 percent charge left in its massive tank.

That said, the POCO M8 Pro comes with Xiaomi’s 100W wired HyperCharge speeds — adapter still bundled in the box.

By default, the battery charging speed is set in regular with the prompt / option to enable boosting.

In my GadgetMatch Charge Test results, it can be seen that the difference isn’t too far off.

	*Boosted HyperCharge*	*Regular HyperCharge*	*PPS Charging* (UGREEN 100W Nexode)
*START TIME* *From 0%*	1:11AM	3:10PM	4:06PM
3 minutes	10%	8%	1%
5 minutes	17%	11%	4%
*10 minutes*	25%	18%	13%
15 minutes	40%	23%	21%
20 minutes	46%	32%	28%
*30 minutes*	70%	50%	46%
45 minutes	88%	71%	67%
*1 hour*	99%	91%	84%
1 hour 15 minutes	–	99%	96%
*END TIME* *100%*	2:14AM 1 hour 3 minutes	4:27PM 1 hour 17 minutes	5:30PM 1 hour 24 minutes

PPS Charging is also possible. Although the device only showed “Quick Charge” while being filled up, it’s safe to say that it performs as fast as Xiaomi’s regular HyperCharge with a super close margin of only seven minutes.

Cameras: Surprisingly Satisfying

Prospective buyers of the M8 Pro wouldn’t have a hard time dealing with its conventional camera configuration: a 50MP f/1.6 main (wide) camera based on Light Fusion 800’s 1/1.55-inch sensor. That’s paired with a less outstanding 8MP f/2.2 UWA (ultra-wide angle) camera.

For the most part, the main camera does its job very well considering this type of device.

With the satisfactory 1x image sensor, 2x zoom is also possible, thanks to in-sensor cropping.

I honestly used the 2x mode more than I thought — especially when capturing my cats and food I devour.

You can go beyond the bounds. But, with obvious hardware limitations, the camera processing can only do so much.

Once that natural light disappears, it will be tricky to take low-light shots as this has NO dedicated Night Mode feature. No luck if you are using them indoors with artificial light around.

Instead, regular Photo Mode automatically detects a low-light subject and toggles Night Mode processing by itself.

While most results are satisfying, it’s also a testament that its cameras are far from being flawless.

Good thing, the flash exists for a funkier look in subjects that suit it — food specifically.

Portraits weren’t missed. Although it only relies on some software-based processing, it still gets the job done of separating the subject away from the background — humans and pets alike.

Personally, the aperture function was a bit of a nuisance.

For context, these shots were set to a low “f/1.8 aperture.” But, the M8 Pro rendered DoF (Depth of Field) that isn’t as shallow as what it’s supposed to show.

My frustration continues as the setting defaults back to f/4.5 after quitting and re-opening the camera app. That’s not even the standard lens opening when taking portrait photos.

And while we’re already here, selfies taken with its front-facing shooter.

Is the POCO M8 Pro your GadgetMatch?

While this isn’t the “flagship killer” most expect from a POCO phone, it’s hard not to go loco over how well-rounded yet wallet-friendly this POCO phone is — especially in the year 2026 where inflation is still unstoppable alongside the almost instantaneous and ridiculous RAM price hike.

ICYMI, the POCO M8 Pro has a starting price of GBP 299 / SG$ 389 / RM 1199 / PhP 16,999 (around US$ 279) for the 8+256GB configuration.

Meanwhile, the 12+512GB variant that I handle is priced at GBP 349 / SG$ 449 / RM 1499 / PhP 19,999 (approx. US$ 359).

Its closest rival is none other than the HONOR X9d. Coincidental or not, it was launched just a day after the unveiling of the M8 Pro.

Frankly, the only thing you’ll let go from HONOR’s sweet treat are its monstrous 8300mAh battery and more polished OS. This POCO-ffering blows it out of the water with a greater chipset, faster wired charging, bigger and better display, capable cameras, durability never forgotten.

Although it wasn’t totally highlighted, the POCO M8 Pro is undoubtedly a rebadged REDMI Note 15 Pro+ — Xiaomi’s midranger that heavily markets its “Titan Durability” capabilities.

The POCO M8 Pro has them all: from its sturdy aluminum frame, four IP ratings, even the fully-shielded front glass care of Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The biggest disparity? REDMI has a 200MP main camera over POCO’s 50MP shooter.

Despite some inconsistencies, the POCO M8 Pro is still an all-around midranger that will satisfy most users who want to purchase a shiny new smartphone without burning holes in your pockets.

It is a Swipe Right, Super Swipe, and a worthy recipient of the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval.