Without Ra Gun-ah, Korea is the lowest in Group A + 10th in Asia Cup power ranking. It's too low a prediction. South Korean farmer is preparing a strong counterattack
Aug 10, 2025
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Just before the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 was held, it was expected in an article on the tournament's website.
He said Korea is not easy. Although they did not rank specifically, they predicted South Korea's elimination from the group qualifying round in the Asian Cup Group A preview.
In this article 'Korea, led by Kim Jong-kyu and Lee Hyun-joong, should play without Ra Gun-ah, who retired from the national team last year. This Asian Cup won't be easy.
Australia was expected to be No. 1 in the group, shedding light on whether it had won three consecutive tournaments, and Lebanon was evaluated as a dark horse that could prevent Australia's dominance. Kata, the host of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, was expected to be a dark horse.
However, expectations and results were different.
This Asian Cup is a series of ups and downs. Each team's generational change issues were combined, so it was not possible to build the best power.
Japan, which was missing all three key players, Rui Hachimura, Utah Watanabe and Yuki Kawamura, lost to Iran, which is undergoing a generational change, and the Philippines, which was expected to be a strong dark horse, is struggling in the preliminary round. I got a blow from Taiwan.
In addition, Lebanon, which seemed to have strengthened its power with the addition of Wael Arakji and the acquisition of Didrick Lawson, caught Qatar after a struggle, but is struggling with Arakji's absence.
South Korea captured the match against Qatar, which was the most critical moment of the tournament. On the 8th (Korea time), he beat 97:83 in the second round of Group A.
It was close in the first half, but South Korea widened the gap with organized movements and explosive 3-pointers in the second half, and eventually won.
It has secured the third place in the group, and if it wins the match against Lebanon at midnight on the 10th, it can secure the second place in the group.
At this point, Lebanon has problems on its outskirts. There are injuries to the outer core as well as the arakji. However, the organized basketball centered on Lawson is still sharp.
South Korea's Yeo Jun-seok is uncertain to play due to a knee injury. It is an essential resource in the match against Lebanon. However, the explosive power of the three-point shot by strong activity and organized movement is impressive.
If they advance to the quarterfinals wild card final as third place in the group, they are likely to face Japan, which is likely to be second place in Group B. If they become second in the group, they will compete with Guam (or Syria), which is likely to be third in Group B, for a ticket to the quarterfinals.
If you win against Lebanon, your chances of reaching the quarterfinals will increase a lot. However, even if it faces Japan, it is worth trying.
Japan was joined by Yuki Togashi, Yudai Baba and Keisei Tominaga, who did not play in the last warm-up match. Keisei's sharp 3-pointer is impressive, but not out of control.
South Korea is expected to rank 10th in the power rankings. In the article on the tournament's website, it was evaluated as the lowest in Group A. The victory over Qatar laid the groundwork for South Korea's counterattack.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
