South Korean Men's and Women's Basketball Teams Aim for First Joint Asian Games Title in 14 Years

South Korean basketball has achieved the second-most success in Asian Games history, trailing only the Great Wall of China.

China has claimed the most gold medals with 8 titles in the men's division and 7 in the women's division, while South Korea follows closely with 4 men's titles (1970, 1982, 2002, 2014) and 4 women's titles (1978, 1990, 1994, 2014), giving it the second-highest combined gold medal count for both men and women.

While attention is focused on the quest for a combined men's and women's basketball gold medal sweep for the first time in 14 years at the upcoming 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games, the reality is far from easy.

The men's team, in particular, is in a position where it must first aim to return to the podium, having recorded what could be called its "worst-ever performance" at the previous Hangzhou Asian Games held in 2023.

At the Hangzhou Games, the South Korean men's basketball team failed to reach the medal rounds after being blocked by China in the quarterfinals.

This broke a long-standing streak of winning medals that began after an elimination in the quarterfinals at the 2006 Doha Games, followed by a silver medal in Guangzhou in 2010, a gold medal in Incheon in 2014, and a bronze medal in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018. Following classification matches, they finished in 7th place, their lowest ranking in Asian Games history.

After parting ways with head coach Choo Il-seung following the Hangzhou Asian Games, the men's national team reached the quarterfinals of the FIBA Asia Cup last year under the leadership of head coach Ahn Joon-ho. However, the Korea Basketball Association chose not to extend Ahn's contract and began searching for a new commander.

Late last year, Latvian-born Nikolais Mazurs took office as the team's first-ever foreign head coach, but the mood ahead of the Asian Games remains less than stellar, with South Korea managing only 1 win in its subsequent 6 matches.

Their only victory came in a World Cup Asian Qualifiers match last month, where they edged Japan by 2 points. However, the mood soured further following humiliating, heavy defeats by margins of 20 and 29 points in away friendly matches against Japan held on the 15th and 16th of this month.

Concerns were raised as the team showed very poor performance, even taking into consideration the absence of key players: "ace" Lee Hyun-jung, who was invited to a mini-camp by an NBA franchise; and frontline forwards Song Kyo-chang (Osaka Evessa), Choi Jun-yong (KCC), and core guard Lee Jung-hyun (Sono), who were all sidelined.

On the bright side, expectations are rising because Lee Hyun-jung is scheduled to participate in the Asian Games, and Choi Jun-yong, who is pursuing a challenge on the American stage, has also expressed his strong desire to play, which is expected to bolster the squad's strength.

Placed in Group A alongside Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia for the Asian Games group stage, the men's national team is scheduled to play an away World Cup qualifier against Lebanon on the 27th of this month, followed by a home match against Saudi Arabia in Suwon on the 31st.

Afterward, they will host the Philippines in Suwon on the 4th and 6th of next month for their final rehearsal ahead of the Asian Games.

The women's national team has never missed out on a medal at the Asian Games, including the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games (silver medal), where they competed as a unified inter-Korean team.

After winning the bronze medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, head coach Park Soo-ho took the helm in May 2024 and has led the team through to the upcoming Asian Games.

The women's national team finished 4th at the Asia Cup last year and secured their 17th consecutive qualification for the FIBA World Cup finals this March. However, they left with disappointing results, suffering two consecutive losses in friendly matches against Japan held on the 13th and 14th of this month.

After suffering a heavy 18-point defeat in the first game, they controlled the flow of the game in the second match but ultimately lost by a single point after conceding consecutive three-pointers in the dying moments to Japan's 2006-born point guard Kokoro Tanaka.

A major variable for the national team is that core guard Park Ji-hyun (Los Angeles Sparks), who plays on the WNBA stage, will be unable to participate in the Asian Games due to her club schedule, while the availability of core pillar Park Ji-su (KB), who is recovering from an injury, remains uncertain.

The women's national basketball team has been placed in Group C of the Asian Games group stage alongside Taiwan, Malaysia, and Mongolia.

Ahead of the Asian Games, they will compete in the FIBA World Cup finals held in Germany in September, where they will face France, Nigeria, and Hungary in Group B of the group stage.

Basketball at this year's Asian Games will kick off with the men's tournament on September 10, well ahead of the opening ceremony on September 19, with the final scheduled for September 20, the day after the opening.

The women's group stage matches will begin on September 17, and the final will take place on the 26th.

All games will be held at the Aichi International Arena.

3x3 basketball, which was introduced as an official discipline starting from the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, will also be held at this tournament.

Medal expectations are high once again for the men's division, which brought home a silver medal from Jakarta and a bronze medal from Hangzhou.

Lee Ju-young, Kim Seung-woo (both from Yonsei University), Lee Dong-geun (Korea University), and Ku Min-gyo (Sungkyunkwan University), who combined to win the silver medal at the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in April, will compete.

The women's 3x3 national team consists of Song Yun-ha (KB), Hur Yu-jung (Shinhan Bank), Kim Jung-eun (BNK), and Choi Ye-seul (Samsung Life Insurance).

Both the men's and women's 3x3 basketball events will take place from September 21 to 25 at the Kinshokuto Station Special Court.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.