KOR
▲ The South Korean national men's basketball team celebrates after winning the gold medal at the victory ceremony of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on the 20th.
The return trip of the South Korean national men's basketball team, which secured its first Asian Games gold medal in 12 years, was far from smooth until the very end due to the organizing committee's poor management.
Following an absurd "vehicle no-show" incident on the day of the final, the airport shuttle bus also failed to show up on time on the morning of their departure.
The South Korean national team was scheduled to head to the airport early this morning (the 21st)—the day after defeating the host nation, Japan, 67-57 to claim the championship—but the bus assigned by the organizing committee did not arrive at the promised time.
National team forward Yeo Jun-seok posted a photo on social media showing the team stranded with their luggage, along with the caption, "Even on the day of departure, the bus doesn't show."
This is not the first time the national team has suffered inconvenience due to the organizing committee's vehicle allocation issues.
The day before, ahead of the final against Japan, the vehicle assigned for the morning shooting practice failed to appear, forcing the team to cancel their planned session.
Regarding the absurd incident right before the final against host Japan, some raised suspicions of "home-court bias," but the team remained unshaken and climbed to the top with dominant performances.
Even in the face of another vehicle delay on their departure route, the team remained composed.
The players calmly and relaxed handled the situation, taking photos of each other waiting on the street with their luggage beside them and sharing them on social media.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
