South Korea Defeats Japan to Win Women's Basketball Gold... Achieving Combined Men's and Women's Titles for First Time in 12 Years

[Anchor]

The South Korean women's basketball team defeated its arch-rival Japan to win the gold medal for the first time in 12 years. Sweeping 3 out of the 4 gold medals up for grabs in basketball, South Korea achieved combined men's and women's titles along with a victory in the men's 3x3 event.

Reporter Ha Seong-nyong has the details.

[Reporter]

The momentum of the South Korean women's basketball team, which pulled off a dramatic comeback win against the Great Wall of China in the semifinals, carried over into the final.

Despite being at a disadvantage with a seven-game losing streak in recent matchups against Japan, South Korea took control early on by scoring 15 consecutive points, propelled by Lee So-hee's three-pointer and Lee Hae-ran's precise mid-range jumpers in the early first quarter.

In the second quarter, the perimeter shooting of Kang Lee-seul and Lee Hae-ran heated up, and Lee So-hee landed an amazing long-distance buzzer-beater right at the end of the quarter to stretch the lead to 19 points.

Japan did not back down easily.

After shifting the momentum with a buzzer-beater in the third quarter, Japan mounted a fierce defense and fast breaks in the fourth quarter to narrow the gap to just 4 points.

Though chased to a 2-point difference late in the game, the national team fended off Japan's pursuit as Kang Lee-seul calmly sank both free throws with 14 seconds remaining on the clock.

Securing a 5-point victory in the end, the players hugged each other and cheered for their first gold medal in 12 years, while South Korean basketball achieved the remarkable feat of winning both the men's and women's titles.

[Kang Lee-seul / Women's Basketball National Team Captain: My career was missing just one gold medal, and I am truly overjoyed and feel nothing but pure happiness to be able to win it.]

It was a perfect, undefeated championship run with 6 wins, achieved through solid teamwork even without ace players Park Ji-su and Park Ji-hyun.

[Lee Hae-ran / Women's Basketball National Team Forward: This is my first time receiving a gold medal in my basketball career. It is quite heavy. I feel like I should keep holding it and show it off a little.]

Following the men's national team and the men's 3x3 team, the women's national team completed a golden sweep, ushering in a golden age for South Korean basketball.

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The baseball national team defeated China to advance to the final, where it will face Japan—which handed South Korea a crushing defeat in the Super Round—to pursue its fifth consecutive gold medal.

(Video by Park Hyun-chul | Video Editing by Park Jung-sam)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.