South Korean Basketball Team Survives, Advances to FIBA World Cup Qualifiers Second Round After Defeating Japan

The South Korean men's national basketball team, which had been pushed to the brink, defeated Japan to secure a ticket to the second round of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

South Korea (FIBA ranking 56th), led by head coach Nikolajs Mazurs (Latvia), achieved a dramatic 81-79 victory over Japan (22nd) in the sixth and final home game of Group B in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers first round, held at Goyang Sono Arena today (July 6).

With this result, South Korea finished the group stage with a record of 3 wins and 3 losses, securing second place in the four-team Group B and advancing to the next round.

Although South Korea and China finished with the same group stage record, South Korea claimed second place based on the head-to-head record.

Meanwhile, Taiwan fell to fourth place in the group and was eliminated.

In the first round of the Asian qualifiers, the top three teams from each group advance to the second round.

Starting from the second round, 12 countries will be divided into two groups to compete. The top three teams from each group, along with the best-performing fourth-place team, will head to the World Cup finals.

South Korea had a promising start by defeating China in both the first and second matches of the first round held from November to December last year.

However, after head coach Mazurs took the helm, the team faced a crisis, losing consecutive matches in the third and fourth rounds (against Taiwan and Japan) in February and March of this year, as well as the fifth round (against Taiwan).

The team was in a situation where a loss today would have meant immediate elimination from the first round, but they dramatically defeated Japan in the final match to secure their first victory under head coach Mazurs and narrowly escape elimination.

This victory was a valuable result achieved despite the absence of key players.

A difficult match was expected as ace Lee Hyun-jung was unavailable due to his participation in the San Antonio Spurs Summer League for his NBA challenge, and Lee Jung-hyun was also sidelined with an ankle injury.

However, South Korea did not back down easily, leading with high energy from the start.

Lee Woo-suk (Sangmu) penetrated the paint and scored 6 points in the first quarter alone, and the youngest player, Eddie Daniel (SK), born in 2007, energized the court with his lively play, ending the first quarter in a 25-25 tie.

Although scoring did not come easily in the second quarter, South Korea blocked Japan's offensive routes with tenacious defense, finishing the first half in a tight 35-37 game.

However, the momentum shifted drastically in the third quarter.

Japan surged ahead to 54-43, led by fast-break attacks and perimeter shots, but South Korea did not collapse easily even when trailing by 11 points in an instant.

Choi Jun-yong (KCC) scored 11 points in the third quarter alone to lead a fierce pursuit, and South Korea thrillingly turned the game around to 55-54 before entering the final fourth quarter.

Carrying the momentum, South Korea began to score in earnest from the middle of the final quarter.

Following a perimeter shot by Kang Seong-uk (kt), a hook shot by Jang Jae-seok (KCC), and an inside score by Choi Jun-yong, South Korea went on a 6-0 run to lead 69-60 with 5 minutes and 40 seconds remaining.

Having seized the momentum, South Korea seemed to be securing the victory by comfortably fending off Japan's pursuit.

However, the team allowed Joshua Hawkins of Japan to score 11 points alone in the final moments, narrowing the gap to 80-78 with 21 seconds left in the game.

With 5 seconds remaining, they were even in danger of a tie after giving up another foul and free throws to Hawkins, but they managed to hold onto the lead thanks to him missing the second free throw.

In this match, Lee Woo-suk led the offense with 19 points and 7 rebounds, while Choi Jun-yong added 16 points.

Eddie Daniel (9 points) and Yeo Jun-seok (8 points) also contributed valuable points to the victory.

On the other hand, for Japan, Yuta Watanabe recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Hawkins scored 30 points in a fierce effort, but they could not prevent the defeat.

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