The South Korean women's national basketball team, which successfully advanced to the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup finals for the 17th consecutive time, has lit a green light for its first quarterfinal appearance in 16 years by securing a pleasant victory in its opening group stage match.

Led by head coach Park Su-ho, the South Korean national team decisively defeated Nigeria 99-81 in their Group B match of the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup held at the Berlin Arena in Germany.

Nigeria, ranked 8th in the FIBA rankings, was evaluated as superior to 15th-ranked South Korea, but South Korea neatly overturned these expectations to claim a sweeping victory.

South Korea, which failed to reach the quarterfinals with a 1-4 record in the group stage at the 2022 tournament despite picking up its first World Cup finals win in 12 years, raised expectations by defeating a formidable opponent right from the first game of this tournament.

In this tournament, 16 countries are divided into four groups to play the group stage.

The first-place team in each group advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the second and third-place teams go through a playoff to determine quarterfinalists, with the winners joining the quarterfinals.

South Korea is aiming for its first quarterfinal appearance in 16 years since the 2010 tournament.

While women's basketball pillar Park Ji-su is absent from this tournament due to rehabilitation following ankle surgery, guard Park Ji-hyun of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks spearheaded the victory by recording 27 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 6 steals.

National team shooter Kang Lee-seul also added strong support with a stellar performance of 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals, including sinking 6 out of 11 three-point attempts.

South Korea smoothly unspooled the game from the very beginning by capitalizing on outside shots.

They took a 26-22 lead by pouring in 6 three-pointers in the first quarter alone.

Although they briefly conceded a turnaround in the second quarter as they repeatedly allowed points under the basket, Lee Hae-ran slammed home a layup following a aggressive drive to turn the game back around at 33-32.

After completely reclaiming momentum, South Korea finished the first half ahead 48-45 and entered the fourth quarter maintaining a narrow lead at 68-62.

In the final quarter, they entered lockdown mode with 5 consecutive points from Lee Hae-ran, and with Choi I-sam's three-pointer also dropping, they completed an 18-point comfortable victory.

Having harvested a pleasant first win, South Korea will play its second group stage match against powerhouse France, ranked 2nd in the FIBA rankings, at 3:45 AM on the 6th.

(Photo: EPA, Yonhap News)