Lee Jung Hyun struggles with 20 points! South Korea defeated Australia by 36 points. Lee Hyun-joong scored 11 points and Yeo Jun-seok had no points. How was Korea's performance
Aug 06, 2025
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The Korean men's basketball team was completely defeated by Australia, the strongest team in this tournament.
South Korea was completely defeated by Australia 61 to 97 in the first Group A qualifying round of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 at Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia on the 6th (Korea time).
Lee Jung-hyun struggled with 20 points, and Lee Hyun-joong scored 11, but made only 2 of 12 3-pointers. Yeo was scoreless.
Australia had a 57.7% success rate in 3-point shooting and an absolute advantage in rebounding (49-33).
Lee Jung-hyun, Yoo Ki-sang, Lee Hyun-joong, Yeo Jun-seok, and Lee Seung-hyun are starting in Korea.
It wasn't a bad start in the first quarter. South Korea penetrated Australia's defense with strong pressure and performance. Lee Jung-hyun fired a three-point shot after receiving the screen. Lee Woo-seok's sharp under-the-goal breakthrough, which was put in as a substitute, chased him to 18-15.
However, the turnaround was not successful. The first quarter ended 17-25, eight points behind when Xavier Cook was allowed under the basket.
The trend, which was equal until the middle of the second quarter, completely collapsed at the end of the first half. Australia's outskirts were powerful. South Korea showed weakness in its 2-2 defense on the day. The defender checking the ball handler and the big man were out of sync. After the screen, he gave up a lot of space, and there was no way Australia would miss this weakness. He lost three consecutive points to Jack McBain, falling by more than 10 points in an instant. Later, Australia widened the gap with back-to-back free throws and under-the-goal breakthroughs. In the end, the first half ended 31-48, trailing by 17 points.
In the third quarter, South Korea, which fought back with Lee Hyun-joong at the center, strengthened its pursuit. Lee Jung-hyun's quick attack and Lee Hyun-joong's three-point shot burst. However, as Australia's height was consecutively attacked under the basket, the pursuit flow was eventually completely cut off.
Eventually, in the fourth quarter, South Korea prepared for the next game by turning the rotation. Australia fled further, and South Korea had no choice but to admit its complete defeat.
Until the middle of the third quarter, Korea's performance was not bad. However, Australia not only had a starting lineup centered on Jack McBain, but also the height and skill of the rotation members. In addition, not only the height but also the ability to shoot the outside was very strong.
South Korea's 2-2 defense weaknesses and the resulting loopholes in the outer defense occurred, but its activity was still solid, and its offense and defense organization centered on Lee Jung-hyun and Lee Hyun-joong was not bad. However, Australia was too strong.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
