Face the Czech Republic in the final
The Korean women’s national basketball team has advanced to the finals of the 2026 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup pre-qualifying tournament.
The Korean women’s basketball team, led by coach Park Soo-ho, crushed Montenegro 88-66 in the semifinals held in Mexico City, Mexico on the 25th (Korean time).
Korea, ranked 13th in the FIBA rankings, will face the Czech Republic, which defeated Mexico 82-72 in the semifinals, in the finals on the 26th. The Czech Republic is ranked 23rd.
Winning this tournament will secure a spot in the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifiers, which will be held in Germany next September.
Korea, which was pushed to the brink after consecutive losses to Venezuela and the Czech Republic in the group stage, made a comeback by defeating Mali 87-63 in the group stage and decorated its advance to the semifinals with a landslide victory.
Korea, which took a large lead of 25-13 in the first quarter, further widened the gap in the second quarter and finished the first half with a score of 52-31.
Korea, which maintained a lead of around 20 points in the third quarter, solidified its victory by extending the lead to 75-51 in the early fourth quarter with Kang Yi-seul’s 3-pointer and consecutive scores by Park Ji-soo (both Cheongju KB Kookmin Bank) and Shin Ji-hyun (Incheon Shinhan Bank).
Korea showed off its shooting touch by making 12 of 27 three-point attempts, a success rate of 44.4%. Montenegro made only 6 of 24 attempts.
Lee So-hee (Busan BNK) scored 23 points, including making all five of her three-point attempts. Kang Yi-seul scored 20 points, and Park Ji-hyun (former Asan Woori Bank) added 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.
After the game, coach Park Soo-ho said, “Montenegro seemed tired after the overtime game against Mexico, so I told them to do a lot of fast breaks. The players did a good job. We also prepared plays to minimize the opponent’s 3-point shots,” and evaluated, “Lee So-hee did well at critical moments, and Shin Ji-hyun kept the team together with her brilliant plays. Kang Yi-seul made 3-point shots when things were tough.”
Regarding their rise to the finals after being pushed to the brink in the preliminaries, he explained, “We are going through a generational change, so there are many young players and they do not have much experience in international competitions. Also, due to adapting to the high altitude, we had difficult matches in the first and second group matches.” He continued, “We used a balanced mix of players and managed their stamina, which helped us improve our performance.”
Lee So-hee said, “I was able to play well because I didn’t have much experience or record in international competitions, so I didn’t have enough analysis of my opponents,” and added, “This is my first time playing in an international final, but all the players will play with all their heart. They are players who do well when they go with the flow, and I think the flow has come.” She expressed her determination for the finals.
[서울=뉴시스]
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2024-08-25 12:41:29