Lee Hyun-jung Scores 26 as Men's Basketball Reaches Asian Games Final After 12 Years, Securing at Least Silver

The South Korean men's basketball national team has advanced to the Asian Games final for the first time in 12 years.

Led by head coach Nikolais Mazurs of Latvia, the national team, ranked 57th by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), defeated Iran (ranked 28th) 77-51 in the semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, this afternoon (Sept. 18).

With this victory, the men's basketball team has secured the first silver medal for the South Korean delegation at the current Games.

While the opening ceremony for the Games takes place on Sept. 19, the men's basketball tournament began on Sept. 10, leading to today's semifinals.

South Korea has stepped onto the Asian Games men's basketball final stage for the first time in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Games, where they won the gold medal.

Having won the bronze medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and suffering a 7th-place finish—their lowest ranking ever—after being eliminated in the quarterfinals at the 2022 Hangzhou Games held in 2023, the men's basketball team successfully restored its pride by advancing to the final at this tournament.

In addition, the national team broke the so-called "Iran jinx."

Before this match, South Korea held a 13-10 edge against Iran in head-to-head national team matches. However, after winning the Incheon Asian Games final, they suffered six consecutive losses up to the classification match at the Hangzhou Asian Games, before finally prevailing today.

The national team will face the winner of the match between Japan and China in the final on Sept. 20.

After displaying explosive offensive power by scoring triple digits in each of their previous three games, South Korea faced the tenacious defense of Iran and played a low-scoring game in the early stages.

After taking the initiative with consecutive three-pointers by Lee Jeong-hyeon (Sono) and Lee Hyun-jung, they were quickly caught, but outside shots from Lee Hyun-jung and Lee Woo-seok (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps) exploded consecutively again to seize the momentum, finishing the first quarter with a 12-8 lead.

In the second quarter, as the offense of both teams became more active, South Korea began to widen the gap led by Lee Hyun-jung and Lee Woo-seok.

Lee Hyun-jung made a determined tip-in score with about 6 minutes and 10 seconds remaining to make it 21-10, and drained a three-pointer to lead 31-20 with 1 minute and 55 seconds left.

With 34.8 seconds remaining, Lee Woo-seok completed a three-point play to put South Korea ahead 34-22, and South Korea finished the first half with a 36-24 lead following an under-the-basket shot by Lee Woo-seok off a pass from Lee Hyun-jung right before the end of the second quarter.

In the middle of the third quarter, South Korea pulled away to 47-31 with about 5 minutes and 30 seconds left thanks to consecutive outside shots by Lee Hyun-jung and Lee Jeong-hyeon, and extended the lead to 50-33 with a long-range three-pointer by Lee Hyun-jung with 3 minutes and 46 seconds left.

With 34.8 seconds remaining, Lee Hyun-jung hit another outside shot and added a bonus free throw from an opponent's foul for a "four-point play," allowing South Korea to enter the fourth quarter with a 61-37 lead.

Continuing their comfortable lead in the fourth quarter while evenly utilizing bench players, South Korea completed their march to the final with a landslide victory.

Lee Hyun-jung shone with a game-high 26 points, including seven three-pointers, along with 14 rebounds, while Lee Woo-seok added 19 points and Lee Jeong-hyeon contributed 11 points for a combined standout performance.

On this day, South Korea attempted 33 three-pointers as a team and made 14, scoring more from beyond the arc than from two-pointers (12/26).

Iran managed only 2 makes out of 23 three-point attempts, as South Korea dominated the perimeter.

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