'Lee Jung-hyun's explosive 25 points' Korean men's basketball national team secures a decisive 100-83 victory over Japan in the Korea-Japan match... advances to the quarterfinals as Group A winner with three straight wins at the Asian Games

*This content was translated by AI.

A thrilling victory in the Korea-Japan matchup. The South Korean men's basketball national team secured a commanding win in the final group stage match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, finishing with three consecutive victories and topping Group A to advance to the quarterfinals.

Led by head coach Nikolaj Mazulis, South Korea defeated Japan (ranked 22nd) 100-83 in the final third match of the men's basketball group stage A at the tournament held on the 13th at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan.

Having already secured a quarterfinal berth by defeating Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, South Korea claimed first place in Group A with three straight wins, while Japan finished second in the group with two victories and one defeat. The quarterfinal tournament, featuring the top two teams from each group plus the two best-performing third-place teams, will be held on the 16th. The matchups will be determined later.

Lee Jung-hyun was the top contributor to the victory, scoring 25 points and dishing out seven assists, including five three-pointers. Veteran player Jang Jae-seok anchored the paint with 18 points and eight rebounds, while ace Lee Hyun-jung added 16 points and seven assists.

Japan fielded a lineup featuring tall naturalized center Alex Kirk, mixed-race players Iba Yamazaki, Abby Shaffer, and John Harper.

South Korea finished the first quarter leading 19-17. They extended their lead to 38-31 with a three-pointer by Lee Hyun-jung with about two minutes and twenty seconds remaining in the second quarter, but allowed three consecutive three-pointers afterward, ending the first half trailing 40-42.

During the back-and-forth second half, South Korea faced a major setback. With a 55-51 lead, Lee Woo-seok received an unsportsmanlike foul (U-foul) during a contest with Harper in the third quarter and was subsequently ejected after being assessed a technical foul with three minutes and fifty-four seconds remaining.

In a numerical disadvantage, it was Lee Jung-hyun who saved South Korea from falling behind to Harper and Yamazaki. With one minute and thirty-nine seconds left in the third quarter, Lee hit a three-point play to narrow the gap to 62-63, then drained another three-pointer with one minute and four seconds remaining to retake the lead at 65-63. He followed up by sinking consecutive three-pointers, including a buzzer-beater, instantly shifting momentum to 71-66.

Momentum fully on their side, South Korea pulled away in the fourth quarter. With the score at 73-69, Yoo Sang-hee's three-pointer, Lee Hyun-jung's tip-in and near-basket shot came in succession, extending the lead to 80-69 with about six minutes and thirty seconds remaining. Three minutes and three seconds before the end, Lee Jung-hyun converted a three-point play on a drive to the basket, followed by another layup from Lee Hyun-jung, pushing the score to 91-77 with two minutes and thirty seconds left and sealing the victory.

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*This content was translated by AI.