[Anchor]
At the Nagoya Asian Games, our men's national basketball team defeated Japan to advance to the quarterfinals as the top team in their group. The quarterfinal match will take place the day after tomorrow (the 16th).
Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the details.
[Reporter]
Facing tournament favorites Japan without the injured Yeo Jun-seok and Choi Jun-yong, who has yet to join the team, the national representation took flight thanks to Lee Jeong-hyeon.
Starting with an explosive perimeter shot from the very beginning, he seized control by assisting his teammates' scores with sharp passes.
However, right before the end of the first half, the team gave up three consecutive three-pointers and allowed a comeback. During a tight battle in the third quarter, a setback occurred when Lee Woo-seok was ejected after committing a rough foul.
In this moment of crisis, Lee Jeong-hyeon stepped up once again as the solver.
Starting with a "three-point play," he miraculously set the perimeter on fire with consecutive shots, and even succeeded in a three-point buzzer-beater signaling the end of the third quarter before roaring loudly.
Fueled by Lee Jeong-hyeon's one-man show of racking up 12 points in just 1 minute and 39 seconds, the national team maintained their lead into the fourth quarter, celebrating their first inter-Korean-style showdown victory—against Japan—of this tournament with Moon Yu-hyeon's game-ending buzzer-beater that rounded the score up to exactly 100 points.
Lee Jeong-hyeon scored a game-high 25 points, including five three-pointers, while ace Lee Hyun-jung shouldered the dirty work despite a shooting slump, recording 16 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals.
Center Jang Jae-seok also added strength by scoring 18 points and grabbing 8 rebounds while defending against a tall naturalized player.
Avenge-seeking in enemy territory just a month after suffering consecutive crushing defeats in two away evaluation matches held during Liberation Day week last month, the national team extended their winning streak to three games and advanced to the quarterfinals as group leaders.
[Lee Jeong-hyeon / National Basketball Team Guard : (My teammates) knew my shooting condition was good and set up a lot of plays for me, so I think that's why this result came out. I will do my best game by game and work hard to run toward our ultimate goal of winning the championship.]
Our national team will continue their quest for their first gold medal in 12 years in the quarterfinals the day after tomorrow.
(Video Editing: Park Gi-deok)
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