▲ South Korean players compete against Malaysia in their Group C opening match of the women's basketball tournament at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on the 18th
The South Korean women's national basketball team will face Indonesia for a spot in the semifinals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Led by head coach Park Soo-ho, the women's national team will play Indonesia in the tournament's quarterfinals tomorrow (the 24th) at 10:00 a.m. at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan.
Having won their fourth-ever gold medal (in 1978, 1990, 1994, and 2014) at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the South Korean women's basketball team is aiming to reclaim the top spot after 12 years.
The men's national basketball team previously clinched their first gold medal in 12 years, raising expectations for matching gold medals.
In the group stage, the women's national team secured first place in Group C with three consecutive wins, defeating Malaysia, Mongolia, and Taiwan in succession.
In the women's basketball tournament featuring 11 countries, teams first competed in the group stage across three groups, with the first and second-place teams from each group, along with the two best third-place teams, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinal matchups are determined by ranking all teams based on their group stage performances: the 1st and 2nd-place teams are randomly drawn against one of the 7th and 8th-place teams, while the 3rd and 4th-place teams face the 5th and 6th-place teams.
However, teams that were in the same group during the group stage will not meet in the quarterfinals.
Group A consisted of only three teams (China, Indonesia, and Thailand), meaning overall rankings were determined solely by the results of each team's two matches, while records against fourth-place teams were excluded for Groups B and C.
With China, Japan, and Korea each sweeping their respective groups to finish first in Groups A through C, Korea ranked third overall behind China and Japan based on point differentials.
Consequently, Korea was scheduled to face one of the 5th or 6th-place teams in the quarterfinals. Since Taiwan, which was in the same Group C, finished 5th, Indonesia was finalized as Korea's opponent.
Indonesia is ranked 60th in the FIBA rankings, placing them lower than South Korea (14th).
In the group stage, Indonesia defeated Thailand 61-52 and suffered a heavy 41-110 defeat to China, finishing second in Group A with a 1-1 record.
According to records from the Korea Basketball Association, South Korea holds a perfect 5-0 record in all-time senior national team matchups against Indonesia.
Their most recent meeting took place in July of last year during the group stage of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup held in China, where South Korea secured a 95-62 landslide victory.
Most of the core players currently anchoring the national team, including Kang I-seul (Woori Bank), Huh Ye-eun (KB), and Lee Hae-ran (Samsung Life Insurance), were also part of the squad back then.
Attention is focused on whether Lee So-hee (BNK), who ranked fifth overall with an average of 17 points per game in the group stage and hit three 3-pointers per game to rank third overall, alongside Huh Ye-eun, who stands second overall in assists (7.3 per game), will maintain their strong performances into the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, alongside the South Korea-Indonesia match, the other quarterfinal matchups are set as Japan-Taiwan, Taiwan-Philippines, and China-Mongolia.
If South Korea wins its quarterfinal match, it will face the winner of the China-Mongolia match in the semifinals on the 25th.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.