Korea’s latest national basketball team gave a blow to Japan. Coach Ahn Jun-ho is not limited to that, and aims to win the second round on Wednesday. The Korean men’s basketball team won 85-84 in a showdown with the Japanese national team at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Tuesday. 동행복권파워볼
The young Korean team overwhelmed Japan with energy. Consequently, the Korean team had a generous 72-52 lead through the third quarter. However, in the fourth quarter, the Korean team showed rapid deterioration of physical stamina and failed to control its opponent guard Yuki Kawamura, allowing the team to come from behind. Without Lee Jung-hyun’s tiebreaking mid-range shot and Ha Yoon-ki’s free throw, the team would not have been able to yield the entire game.
Ahn Jun-ho, the coach of the Korean national team, also agreed with this point when we met at the Ariake Arena Auxiliary Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon. “We must reflect on ourselves that we lost 22 points to our opponents in the fourth quarter. There is no hero better than a team. If we win, all the players become heroes, and if we lose, the entire team loses. Nonetheless, our players united to win the title. The players and coach Seo Dong-cheol all worked hard. We are very grateful,” Ahn said, reflecting on the past game.
It is true that the national team players lacked time to work together. They had difficulty getting training facilities and lodging, and had it not been for Sono, the team would have had more difficulty preparing for the warm-up match.
Also, the players were not in their normal condition just after the KBL season ended. However, the players responded to Ahn Jun-ho’s “One Team” and won valuable victories in the enemy territory.
“The strength and teamwork of the players are very important. The atmosphere of the national team has been chaotic, but I thought it would be urgent to sort out those areas and make the team take pride as a national team member. That part came out well on Sunday and he gave a shot to not only 15,000 spectators but also 130,000 Japanese fans. The players must have been surprised,” Ahn said.
Manager Ahn Jun-ho said, “In tomorrow’s game, Japan will display a strong defense of pressure just like the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game. We need to overcome this well. We will prepare well and show good performance tomorrow. Please give us a lot of support.”
When asked about the conditions of Byun Joon-hyung and Oh Jae-hyun, who were injured in the match on May 5, Ahn said, “Byun is not in a good condition. We will have to wait and see for him to play in tomorrow’s game. Oh said, “I was surprised at the moment. There is no big problem. However, the overall mood of the team is somewhat upbeat after yesterday’s victory, but we need to remain calm. I will train short and thick today through simple tactical and autonomous shooting training.”
Meanwhile, on the roster of the Japanese national team, there are various mixed-race players, including naturalized players Josh Hawkins, Wanatabe Huw, Jacobs Akira, and Kai Taves. In contrast, Korea no longer has naturalized players due to the expiration of Ra Gun-ah’s contract. For the international competitiveness of Korean men’s basketball, the existence of naturalized players is essential.
Coach Ahn Jun-ho also concurred. “We need players in big man positions. Actually, I was puzzled when Japan first announced that it would bring Hawkins. However, when I first saw Hawkins, he is a really good player who plays on the screen, shoots, and takes part in rebounding. We need players like him who naturalized as Korean citizen,” he said.