[Anchor]
The opening ceremony of the Nagoya Asian Games is next Saturday, but the official competition schedule kicks off tomorrow (the 10th). The men's national basketball team, which will play Team Korea's first match, aims for a victory against Saudi Arabia, spearheaded by the "formidable duo" of Lee Hyun-jung and Yeo Jun-seok.
Reporter Ha Seong-nyong has the story.
[Reporter]
After struggling with teamwork following the appointment of coach Mazurs, the national team bounced back with three consecutive wins and arrived in Nagoya two days ago.
Despite unexpected setbacks as today's training session was canceled due to heavy local rain, the players are brimming with confidence.
The national team faced Saudi Arabia, their opponent in tomorrow's opening match, during the World Cup preliminaries last week. They secured a commanding victory backed by ace Lee Hyun-jung, who recorded 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Yeo Jun-seok, who poured in 18 points, maintaining their dominant head-to-head record at 7 wins and no losses.
To neutralize 208 cm tall center Mohammed Al-Suwailem, who scored 31 points at the time, the team also tested tailored tactics during a friendly match against the Philippines.
With shooters like Lee Jeong-hyeon and Yu Gi-sang regaining their shooting touch, offensive options have also diversified.
Determined to wash away the humiliation of sinking to their lowest-ever ranking of 7th at the Hangzhou Games three years ago and to climb back to the top for the first time in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Games, the players vow to give their all from the very first match.
[Lee Hyun-jung / Men's National Basketball Team Forward: I will always pour 100, 150 percent of myself into it, and I am unconditionally ready to throw my body on the line.]
In the first Korea-Japan showdown of this tournament on the 13th, former star Jeon Tae-poong will step up as an SBS commentator to share the passion with his junior players.
[Jeon Tae-poong / Nagoya Asian Games Basketball SBS Commentator: Honestly, we can really win gold. I can feel it.]
(Video capture: Yoo Dong-hyuk, Yang Doo-won | Video editing: Hwang Ji-young | Design: Park Hye-jin)
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