Korea secure first win in FIBA Asia Cup against Lebanon

Park Ji-hyun dribbles during a 2023 FIBA Asia Cup game against Lebanon at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday. [KOREA BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION]

The Korean women’s basketball team beat Lebanon 76-54 at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in Sydney, Australia, securing their first victory in Group A of the FIBA Asia Cup after narrowly missing a win a day before.

The players stepped on the court trying to redeem themselves from the 66-64 loss against New Zealand on Monday and displayed improvements from the start, making it 12-0 thanks to Park Ji-hyun’s remarkable performance, before the team grabbed the first quarter 25-11.

Lee So-hee then showed solid cohesion with Park and scored multiple points in the second quarter, taking the score 48-24.

Korea rode that momentum in the third quarter and made it all the way to 63-35, before winning the game 76-54 in the end.

The ranking difference — Korea ranked at No. 12 on the FIBA World Ranking and Lebanon at No. 44 — was clear when it came to team cohesion overall, although the top scorer was Trinity Baptiste from Lebanon.

Tuesday’s victory revived Korea’s hope of reaching the knockout stage and securing a place in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The two first-placed teams from Group A and B, determined by a round-robin format, will directly advance to the semifinals, while the second will play third-placed teams in a playoff round to decide the two other semifinalists.

A knockout system will then be used in the semifinal and final games.

Group B includes defending champion Japan, Chinese Taipei, Australia and the Philippines.

The teams that finish in the top four of the Asia Cup — an eight-team tournament — will be eligible to participate in the Olympic qualifiers.

Korea still remains the winningest team in tournament history, having secured the Asia Cup title 12 times in total. Their last victory was in 2007 when they beat China 79-73 in the final.

Korea will now face No. 2 China in the final group stage game on Wednesday at 5 p.m. or 4 p.m. Korea time at the same venue as Tuesday’s game.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]