Lee Hyun-jung Scores 23 Points... Men's Basketball Delivers Team Korea's First Victory

[Anchor]

In the first match for the South Korean delegation, held nine days before the opening of the Nagoya Asian Games, the men's national basketball team secured an encouraging victory. Ace Lee Hyun-jung poured in 23 points to lead a resounding win against Saudi Arabia.

Reporter Ha Seong-long has the details.

[Reporter]

Facing Saudi Arabia again at the Asian Games just ten days after defeating them in the World Cup qualifiers last week, the national team took the early lead, driven by Yeo Jun-seok's drives to the basket and captain Lee Seung-hyun's accurate mid-range shots.

Lee Seung-hyun delivered successive shots from similar positions and excelled on both offense and defense by guarding the towering 208cm center Al-Suwailem, who is more than 10cm taller than him.

Leading by 13 points at halftime, the national team faced a scare in the early third quarter when Yeo Jun-seok was substituted due to an ankle injury, allowing successive fast breaks that narrowed the gap to 7 points. However, Lee Hyun-jung stepped up as the troubleshooter in this moment of crisis.

Lee Hyun-jung, who had been limited to 5 points in the first half, rained down three-pointers from all over and aggressively penetrated the paint, sweeping up 13 points in the third quarter alone.

With perimeter shots added by Lee Jeong-hyeon and Lee Woo-seok, the national team widened the gap to 27 points by the end of the third quarter, sealing the victory early.

Lee Hyun-jung exploded for a game-high 23 points, while Lee Woo-seok and Lee Seung-hyun also scored in double digits, delivering Team Korea's first victory of the Nagoya Games.

[Lee Seung-hyun / Men's National Basketball Team Captain: "First of all, I feel great about achieving the first win for the (Korean delegation). In the second half, our three-pointers started dropping, and I think we were able to manage the game a bit more smoothly."]

Aiming for its first championship in 12 years, the national team will play its second group-stage match against Indonesia today (September 11).

(Video Editing: Lee Jae-sung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.