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| ▲ This photo provided by FIBA on June 29, 2021, shows three members of the South Korean men's basketball team. From left: center Ra Gun-a, guard Lee Dae-sung and forward Lee Hyun-jung. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo provided by the Korea Basketball Association on June 28, 2021, shows Cho Sang-hyun, head coach of the South Korean men's national basketball team, at a press conference at Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania, ahead of an Olympic qualifying tournament. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
basketball-Olympics
S. Korea up against tough competition in Olympic men's basketball qualifiers
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will try to qualify for its first Olympic men's basketball tournament in 25 years against two favored opponents this week.
South Korea will face Venezuela to open the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania, for a 7:30 p.m. Wednesday tipoff (local time) at Zalgirio Arena, when it will be 1:30 a.m. Thursday in South Korea.
Next up will be host Lithuania at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Kaunas, or 1:30 a.m. Friday in Seoul.
These three countries are in Group A. Group B features Poland, Slovenia and Angola.
After round-robin play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. Only the final winner in Kaunas will qualify for the July 23-Aug. 8 Tokyo Olympics.
There are three other qualifying tournaments taking place this week: in Victoria, Canada; Split, Croatia; and Belgrade, Serbia.
South Korea, at No. 30, is the lowest-ranked team in its group, behind the eighth-ranked Lithuania and 20th-ranked Venezuela.
South Korea must win at least one game to have a chance to reach the semifinals. Lithuania, led by NBA stars Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers) and Jonas Valanciunas (Memphis Grizzlies), will provide a tougher challenge for South Korea, and head coach Cho Sang-hyun's 12-man team should try to get the best of Venezuela in the opener.
Venezuela will play Lithuania first Tuesday and then face South Korea on the second night of a back-to-back. South Korea and its young roster, with an average age of 26, should have fresher legs against Venezuela, whose players are 31 on average.
South Korea will feature Davidson forward Lee Hyun-jung and naturalized center Ra Gun-a, born Ricardo Ratliffe in the United States. A pair of former Korean Basketball League (KBL) MVPs, Heo Hoon and Song Kyo-chang, are out with injuries, and head coach Cho called up high school star Yeo Jun-seok and Korea University center Ha Yun-gi to give them a taste of international basketball.
"Obviously, both of our opponents will be tough to beat, but we'll have to take on this challenge," Cho said at a press conference Monday. "Our goal is to beat Venezuela. If we pay attention to details on rebounding and defense, then the result may end up in our favor."
Cho admitted that missing key players to injuries isn't ideal but added, "I hope these players see firsthand the high quality of international basketball and grow from this experience."
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