South Korea’s men’s basketball team pulled off a thrilling one-point victory over Japan.
The team, led by head coach Ahn Jun-ho, defeated Japan 85-84 in the first round of the SoftBank Cup at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, at 7 p.m. on Friday.
South Korea, ranked 50th in the world, has undergone a generational change in preparation for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers in November, 사설 토토사이트 fielding a young roster with an average age of 24.
Ha Yoon-ki (KT), Byun Jun-hyung (Sangsung), Oh Jae-hyun (SK), Lee Jung-hyun (Sono), Lee Woo-seok (Hyundai Mobis), and others proved their promise by upsetting Japan in the final round of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Japan, ranked No. 26 in the world, bowed to South Korea at home in the absence of Rui Hachimura of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Los Angeles Lakers and Yuta Watanabe of the Memphis Grizzlies.
South Korea will play Japan in Game 2 at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 at the same venue.
South Korea battled back in the second quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Lee Jung-hyun and led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter.
However, Japan chipped away in the fourth quarter and eventually turned the game around.
Down and out, South Korea tied the game at 84-84 on a two-point play from the side by Lee Jung-hyun with 14 seconds left in regulation.
With 0.9 seconds left in regulation, Ha was fouled and drew two free throws, making the first and intentionally missing the second to seal the one-point victory.
Lee finished with 27 points on the night, including six three-pointers, while Ha Yoon-ki added 15 points and seven rebounds in the win over Japan.
