NAGOYA, Japan: South Korea reclaimed the Asian Games men’s basketball title Sunday, defeating host Japan 67-57 at Aichi International Arena to end a 12-year gold-medal drought and complete an unbeaten campaign.
South Korea’s victory marked its first men’s basketball gold at the Asian Games since the 2014 Incheon Games and its fifth overall title in the event, following championships in 1970, 1982, 2002 and 2014.
Forward Lee Hyun-jung led the way with a game-high 27 points and 18 rebounds. He scored 13 points in the decisive third quarter, helping South Korea turn a tight contest into an eight-point lead entering the final period.
The final was far more closely contested than the teams’ group-stage meeting. South Korea had beaten Japan 100-83 the previous Sunday, but both teams struggled offensively in the championship game, with Japan shooting 28% from the field in the first half and South Korea shooting 33%.
Japan led 16-12 after the opening quarter, but South Korea responded in the second to level the score at 28-28 at halftime.
Lee then sparked South Korea’s decisive run in the third quarter, making three 3-pointers as his team shot 6-for-8 from beyond the arc and moved ahead 55-47. South Korea maintained control in the fourth quarter and held off Japan’s late attempts to close the gap.
The gold medal also gave Lee a special family connection to the Asian Games. His mother, Seong Jeong-a, was part of South Korea’s women’s basketball team that won gold at the 1990 Beijing Games, making Lee the second Asian Games basketball gold medalist in his family.
The triumph was South Korea’s first Asian Games men’s basketball gold won outside its home country since the 1982 New Delhi Games. It also returned the team to the top of Asian basketball for the first time since its 2014 title.
