Women's Basketball Coach Park Suho on Reaching Semifinals: 'Best-Executed Game'

South Korea women's basketball national team head coach Park Suho, who has secured a spot in the semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, evaluated the quarterfinal match against Indonesia as the team's best-executed game of the tournament and vowed to keep up the good performance in the upcoming matches.

Speaking after the women's basketball quarterfinals against Indonesia at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on the 24th, Coach Park stated, "Today's game was the most satisfying one."

Led by Coach Park, the women's basketball team advanced to the semifinals by decisively defeating Indonesia 101-59 earlier in the day.

Aiming to reclaim the championship for the first time in 12 years since 2014, the national team cruised through the tournament's first knockout match following a three-game sweep in the group stage.

Coach Park said, "Indonesia has improved compared to when we faced them at the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup last year, and our players took a while to get going in the first half. However, our fast breaks picked up a lot in the second half, making it the smoothest game of this tournament so far."

The national team will face the winner of the quarterfinal match between China and Mongolia in the semifinals on the 25th, with widespread expectations pointing toward China, the gold medalist of the past two consecutive editions.

Coach Park remarked, "China is a globally strong team. We actually practiced certain aspects during today's game in preparation for potentially meeting China. We will take some time until tomorrow morning and continue our preparations."

He emphasized, "We need to stay active and move a lot. Transition and shooting are our strengths, so we must push for the fastest offense possible. To create perimeter opportunities, I've been instructing guards like Heo Ye-eun and An Hye-ji to dish out plenty of assists. We've practiced extensively not just dribble-handoffs and passes, but also cuts and kick-out passes, so we need to put those elements to good use."

Key guard Heo Ye-eun (KB), who contributed 11 points and dished out 8 assists in the match, also projected China as their semifinal opponent.

She said, "We are at a disadvantage in height, so we need to focus on transition play and shooting, where we hold the advantage and can execute well."

"Having played continuously since the World Cup, my condition isn't at 100%, but I believe that once you wear the Taegeuk mark, that's no excuse and you have to give it your all," Heo added. "The team atmosphere is great as the players share plenty of laughs and talk openly with each other. I'm looking forward to the semifinal match as well."


Captain Kang Iseul (Woori Bank), who scored 11 points including three 3-pointers, pointed out, "Since we had the upper hand in terms of strength, I played thinking of it as a chance to get a feel for the game, but we still had some defensive mistakes that need to be addressed. Personally, my shooting balance isn't ideal right now, so improving my conversion rate will be my main task."

She expressed her determination, saying, "The men's basketball national team returned home in triumph after winning the gold medal, so we want to channel that good energy and push all the way for the gold medal. The semifinals will likely be the most crucial game, and we will prepare well tomorrow to show a great performance."

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