If only two 3-pointers went in... Korean Basketball Fired to Fight, chased under the chin of the Great Wall, but ultimately failed to win the final
Aug 14, 2025
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The South Korean men's basketball team, led by head coach Ahn Joon-ho, failed to overcome the last crisis and lost to China. Despite the inferiority of his height, he showed fast speed and strong defense, and by the end of the fourth quarter, he was six points behind China's chin.
Even if only two of the 17 failed 3-pointers were made on the day, there was a possibility that the game would change. However, it was not easy to score three points through China's height. South Korea made only three of its 24 three-point attempts on the day. At least two of the three were only scored by Lee Hyun-joong and Lee Woo-seok in the fourth quarter.
South Korea has failed to advance to the semifinals of the FIBA Asia Cup in 2025. South Korea lost the quarterfinals against China at Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia on the 14th (Korea time) with a score of 71-79, failing to overcome the last-minute crisis. Lee Hyun-joong scored 22 points and seven rebounds, while Ha Yoon-ki also showed competitiveness under the basket with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
However, he failed to properly control China's Hu Jin-chu (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Wang Jun-je (21 points, 8 rebounds).
The first quarter was a close game. South Korea faced off equally early in the first quarter with Ha Yoon-ki's under-the-goal score and Jung Sung-woo's 3-pointer. He then led 13-11 with Lee Hyun-joong's three-point shot at 5:24 of the first quarter when he was trailing 10-11. Lee Woo-suk and Ha Yoon-ki then scored in a row to make it 18-14. South Korea's four-point lead was maintained until 1:27 of the quarter ended. However, the defense failed at the last minute and allowed China five consecutive points, eventually giving up the lead to 24-25 and finishing the quarter.
It was heavily pushed in the second quarter. China widened the gap in the early stages with its screen and offensive rebounds, which are its biggest strengths. However, Lee Hyun-joong got four free throws in a row while fighting physically under the goal of China, and all of them were successful, so he caught up 30-32.
But it was only for a moment. It struggled with the continued screen and internal and external attacks of Chinese big men. In the end, they lost the first half 35-46.
At the beginning of the third quarter, coach Ahn Joon-ho threw a bold game plan. It used full-court press and regional defense to throw China into chaos. Thanks to this, the team led 20-18 in the third quarter.
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China immediately tried to break the flow by calling for a timeout. This is proof that he was so embarrassed.
However, after a while, the biggest bad news broke out in Korea.
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South Korea maintained a 2-3 matchup and prevented China's offensive with minimal damage. However, Yeo Jun-seok's 3-point shot to the corner open chance missed again with the score trailing 63-71. Since then, there have been continuous mistakes in the attack. Three minutes and 33 seconds before the end, Yoo Ki-sang got two free throws for an opponent's foul following an interception, but all failed. Yang Joon-seok scored a floater after catching an offensive rebound. Since then, Lee Hyun-joong and Yang Joon-seok's three-point attempts, which were thrown 2:41 before the end of the 67-75 game and 2:04 before the end, continued to turn away from the rim. If these two shots went in, there was a possibility that the winning and losing trend would change.
As a result, China's defense plan to block South Korea's three-point shot was a success. South Korea's three-point shooting success rate on the day was only 12.5%. It was a deadly loser.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
