Lee Hyun-jung Explodes with 54-Point Landslide Win... Men's Basketball Nears Quarterfinals

The South Korean men's national basketball team, seeking to reclaim the championship for the first time in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Games, has secured its second consecutive victory in the group stage, clearing the major hurdle toward a spot in the quarterfinals.

Led by head coach Nikolais Mazurs, South Korea (57th in the FIBA rankings) overwhelmingly defeated Indonesia (92nd) 102-48, a massive 54-point margin, in their Group A second match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on the 11th.

Having previously defeated Saudi Arabia (64th) 82-66 the day before, South Korea secured back-to-back landslide victories, passing the crucial threshold for reaching the quarterfinals.

In this tournament, the first and second-place teams from each group, along with the top two third-place teams with the best records, advance to the quarterfinal knockout stage to compete for medals.

If Japan (22nd) defeats Saudi Arabia in the same-group match scheduled for 7 PM today, both South Korea and Japan will stand at two wins, while Saudi Arabia and Indonesia will record two losses, early confirming South Korea's minimum second-place finish in the group and advancement to the quarterfinals.

On this day, South Korea opened the game with ace Lee Hyun-jung's refreshing three-pointer, raising early momentum through aggressive participation in rebounds.

Lee Hyun-jung took charge of the team's five consecutive early points while trailing 0-5 and grabbed 6 rebounds to perform strongly, while Yoo Gi-sang scored consecutive three-pointers near the end of the quarter, turning the game around to finish the first quarter 18-10.

In the second quarter, the combo play of Byun Jun-hyung and Jang Jae-seok shone, widening the gap to 27-15, a 12-point difference.

However, Indonesia's three-pointers occasionally pierced the net, keeping the lead around the 10-point margin without allowing South Korea to pull further away.

Starting from the third quarter, which began with a 39-30, 9-point lead, South Korea secured a firm grip on victory by unleashing its signature perimeter shooting without reservation.

Lee Hyun-jung completely seized control by sweeping 10 consecutive points early in the third quarter, including three three-pointers, while Yoo Gi-sang's three-pointer and Lee Seung-hyun's mid-range shot added strength, pulling ahead 66-36, a 30-point gap, 3 minutes and 17 seconds before the end of the third quarter.

South Korea poured in a whopping 31 points solely in the third quarter while tightly locking down Indonesia's offense to just 11 points, entering the "questionable fourth quarter" with a commanding 70-41 lead.

While South Korea had frequently shaken in the past by visibly displaying a chronic "lack of finishing stamina" in the final quarter despite building early leads, things were different on this day.

In the final fourth quarter, Yoo Gi-sang spearheaded the offense by storming in 4 three-pointers.

South Korea pulled far ahead to 86-45, a 41-point difference, in the middle of the fourth quarter, comfortably managing the game for the remaining time to complete the landslide victory.

The fourth-quarter score on this day was overwhelmingly dominated by South Korea at 32-7.

On this day, Lee Hyun-jung recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, including 4 three-pointers, and added 3 assists for a strong performance.

Yoo Gi-sang also scored 21 points with a fantastic shooting touch, sinking 7 out of 12 three-point attempts (a 58% success rate), and actively participated in dirty work by grabbing 4 rebounds.

Having maximized their confidence with two consecutive group-stage wins, South Korea will play their final group-stage match against Japan on the 13th.

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