Korea take consolation win over Japan after failing to medal

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Korea take consolation win over Japan after failing to medal

Published: 06 Oct. 2023, 14:46

Korea faces Japan in a preliminary round game of the men's basketball tournament at the Hangzhou Asian Games, losing it 83-77 on Saturday. [XINHUA]

Korea beat Japan 74-55 in a men’s basketball classification game on Friday, their final match at the Hangzhou Asian Games after being knocked out of medal contention in the quarterfinals.

It was the second time the teams faced off during this year’s basketball tournament after an 83-77 loss to Japan in the final group stage game on Saturday.

A win against Japan in that game would have allowed Korea to advance to the knockout stage as Group D winners, potentially shaking the lineup so that Korea would not meet defending champions China in the quarterfinal, which the Korean men’s team lost — along with a chance at medaling.

Korea led the scoring early during the first quarter on Friday, allowing Japan only two baskets in the first five minutes. But Japan turned around their game fast, picking up points in the last five minutes to put the scoreboard at 19-18, with Korea up by one point.

Still, the Korean team dominated the court during the second quarter, widening their lead to end the first half 41-25.

Japan matched Korea on the court during the third quarter, with each team scoring 18 points. But Japan failed to make a comeback, ending the fourth quarter with Korea up 19 by the final game buzzer.

Korea's Moon Jeong-hyeon and Kim Jong-kyu were the team's top scorers, each bucketing 20 and 15 points, respectively.

The Korean men’s basketball team, bronze-medalists in 2018, were earlier knocked out of a medal opportunity during the quarterfinals, losing the game against China 84-70 on Tuesday.

They were then bumped further down in the rankings after losing 89-82 to Iran in the fifth to eighth place deciding game on Wednesday.

The Korean women's basketball team took home the country's sole medal in the sport, bronze, on Thursday.

Korea’s Friday win against Japan, who placed seventh at the 2018 Asiad, marked the national team’s final game of the basketball tournament.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]