By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter

Star player Diana Taurasi and the reigning WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury could be making a visit to South Korea to face the Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) winner in May.

The WKBL said that it has been in negotiations with its American counterpart.

"The talks have reached about 50 percent complete and we will continue to discuss it with the WNBA,'' a WKBL official told The Korea Times Thursday.

According to its plan, the Mercury will play the WKBL winner from the 2009-10 season and the WKBL All-Star team.

However, despite the comment from the WKBL, earlier in the day the head of the women's basketball organization said the deal had been completed.

"We have reached an agreement that the 2009 WNBA winner will come here to play in May,'' WKBL Commissioner Kim Won-kil said according to a local media report.

The report said that the commissioner, who has been invited to the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 15 (KST), will finalize all the details at the game.

Should the games take place, it will be the first time for a South Korean champion to play its American counterpart in any professional sport.

The WKBL had held the W-League Championship match with the Japanese league champion until 2008.

The Mercury, headed by Corey Gaines, has won two championships in the last three seasons with some of the league's best players like Cappie Pondexter and Taurasi on the roster.

Guard/forward Taurasi, last season's leading scorer, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and finals MVP.

The former UConn standout, 27, was a member of the U.S. basketball team that won a gold medal in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008.

Guard Pondexter finished fourth in points and third in assists.

In addition, Nicole Ohlde, who played in the WKBL, and Tangela Smith belong to the team.

In the WKBL's current season, the three-time defending champion Shinhan S-Birds has a six game lead in league standings over runners-up Samsung Bichumi as of Thursday.