South Korean women's basketball team shakes off Taiwan's chase to achieve 'three straight wins'... advances to quarterfinals as group winner, aiming for '5th consecutive gold medal in history' [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team advanced to the quarterfinals with three straight wins, overcoming Taiwan's pursuit in the final group stage match.

Coached by Park Soo-ho, the South Korean Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team defeated Taiwan 73-59 in the third group stage C match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games women's basketball tournament held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan on the 22nd.

With this victory, South Korea completed the group stage with three straight wins and secured first place in Group C. Having already confirmed their advancement to the quarterfinals, they capped off the final group match with a win.

Even without key players Park Ji-soo and Park Ji-hyun, the team remained steady. After defeating Malaysia 106-40 (a massive 66-point victory) in the first match on the 18th and beating Mongolia 88-61 on the 21st, they also overcame Taiwan in a tight contest for first place in the group.

On this day, Choi Yi-saem led the offense with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. 'Team captain' Kang Yi-seul also contributed 14 points with two 3-pointers. Guard Lee So-hee recorded 11 points. Jin An and Heo Ye-eun each scored 10 points.

The game was closely contested through the first quarter. South Korea engaged in a tight battle with Taiwan, taking a narrow 20-17 lead (a three-point advantage).

However, from the second quarter onward, South Korea's long-range shooting began to explode. Starting with Hong Yu-soon in the middle of the quarter, Choi Yi-saem, Kang Yi-seul, and Kang Yu-rim took turns hitting 3-pointers. As Taiwan's defense failed to contain the perimeter, South Korea quickly widened the gap.

South Korea ended the first half leading 42-29, a 13-point margin.

The momentum continued into the third quarter. Kang Yi-seul and Lee So-hee steadily accumulated points from both inside and outside, and with Choi Yi-saem hitting another 3-pointer in the middle of the quarter, the score expanded to 54-34. The gap had now reached 20 points.

However, Taiwan did not give up easily. Starting from the end of the third quarter, they found openings in their offense and began a comeback, gradually narrowing the large point deficit. South Korea also could not afford to let go of their focus until the very end.

In this critical moment, Jin An stepped up. After securing the ball in a rebound battle and bringing possession back to South Korea, she took responsibility for scoring herself, effectively halting Taiwan's comeback momentum.

In the fourth quarter as well, South Korea's long-range shooting proved decisive at key moments. As Taiwan narrowed the score to 63-50 and tried to regain momentum, Heo Ye-eun hit a crucial 3-pointer.

Even when Taiwan drew closer again, Heo Ye-eun delivered another critical score. Ultimately, South Korea regained control of the game's flow and secured the victory by overcoming Taiwan's final comeback attempt.

Having won all three group stage matches, South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals as the top team in Group C.

Now, South Korea will aim for their fifth Asian Games gold medal in history, following the 2014 Incheon tournament. In the previous tournament, the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, they won a bronze medal.

A total of 11 teams participated in this year's women's basketball tournament. The group stage was divided into three groups: Group A with three teams and Groups B and C with four teams each.

The top two teams from each group (six teams total) plus the two best third-place teams advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will compete in a knockout tournament to determine the champion.

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*This content was translated by AI.