'Gold in 12 Years': Women's Basketball National Team, "We Have to Win No Matter What"… Duel Against China's 226cm Zhang Ziyi [You Quiz]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The women's basketball national team revealed the behind-the-scenes story of winning the Asian Games gold medal for the first time in 12 years.

On the 7th, Kang Yi-seul, Lee So-hee, and Lee Hae-ran of the women's basketball national team, who reached the top of the Asian Games after 12 years, appeared on episode 363 of tvN's variety show 'You Quiz on the Block,' which aired that day.

On this day, Kang Yi-seul recalled the moment they won the gold medal, saying, "We departed in a state where we doubted ourselves and lacked confidence, but it feels like we won miraculously. That is why I was even happier and felt great."

In this tournament, the Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team had to play games amid the absence of key players. Park Ji-soo could not join due to injury, and Park Ji-hyun was absent due to WNBA schedule commitments.

Captain Kang Yi-seul stated, "It would be a lie if I said there was no burden," while adding, "We had anticipated that the two players might not be able to join, so we were prepared."

She continued, "In team sports, good results can sometimes come out when the team's strength is weakened. Since we had to fill the gaps ourselves, I wondered if new faces would shine in this tournament, and they really did well. They are young players, but they performed so well that even I was surprised watching them," expressing affection for her juniors.

In particular, the national team faced China, a world-class powerhouse, on their path to the final. Above all, China had Zhang Ziyi, who stands 226cm tall, making a difficult match expected. Lee Hae-ran recalled facing Zhang Ziyi at the time, saying, "There was pressure, but honestly speaking, we couldn't stop her. Even when I stretched my arms out, I couldn't reach her."

In response, Kang Yi-seul said candidly, "What do you do? We have to win no matter what," which drew laughter.

In fact, the national team applied strong pressure from the half-line and even deployed defensive tactics where two, or sometimes three, players would guard Zhang Ziyi to stop her. Kang Yi-seul recalled, "Even doing that, we couldn't stop her."

On the other hand, Lee So-hee said confidently, "Honestly, I didn't think about losing." She revealed, "I was one of the players who had never actually seen Zhang Ziyi in person. It might have been a reckless thought, but since we were going to give up points anyway, I thought we should do it quickly and use Zhang Ziyi to our advantage."

They exploited Zhang Ziyi's relative weakness in fast offensive transitions due to her height. The national team countered by accepting giving up two points to China while quickly transitioning to offense to aim for three-point shots, ultimately defeating China to advance to the final.

The Lee Eo (CEO) team faced Japan for the gold medal. Ahead of the final, Kang Yi-seul said, "I felt a bit good that day. I gathered the players and said, 'I think we will win today. I feel like we can get the gold medal.'" She added, "The players also smiled and said, 'We too.' It seems that showed up in the game."

Ultimately, the Korean Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team defeated Japan to reach the top of the Asian Games for the first time in 12 years.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original