▲ South Korea's Lim Yeon-seo (No. 6)
South Korea's under-18 women's national basketball team has advanced to the playoff for the semifinals after finishing the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) U-18 Women's Asia Cup group stage with two wins and one loss.
Led by head coach Lee Young-hyun, the national team was defeated by Australia 56-92 in their final Group A match of the 2026 FIBA U-18 Women's Asia Cup held in Seremban, Malaysia, today (Oct. 6).
Having secured consecutive wins against New Zealand on Oct. 4 and the Philippines on Oct. 5, South Korea stumbled against Australia to finish the group stage at 2-1, taking second place in Group A behind Australia (3-0).
In this tournament, eight countries are divided into two groups for the group stage, with each group winner advancing directly to the semifinals, while the second and third-place teams compete in a playoff for a spot in the semifinals.
A top-four finish in this tournament earns a ticket to next year's FIBA U-19 Women's Basketball World Cup in China.
On this day, Lim Yeon-seo (Supia Girls' High School) scored 16 points and Lee Sohee (Sookmyung Girls' High School) added 11 points in a valiant effort, but South Korea heavily trailed Australia 32-54 in rebounds.
The playoff matches will be held on Oct. 8, followed by the semifinals on Oct. 9, and the final and third-place matches on Oct. 10.
(Photo: Capture from the FIBA website, Yonhap News)
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