Korea's Lee Weon-seok, center, drives past Japan's Rui Hachimura, right, during the second half of a friendly basketball game against Japan in Tokyo on Aug. 15.AP/YONHAP
Korea suffered its heaviest defeat on record against Japan in men's basketball on Saturday,falling 88-68 at Ariake Arena in Tokyoon Liberation Day, the holiday marking the end of Japanese colonial rule.
Korea had never lost to Japan by more than 17 points, a margin set in a 75-58 defeat at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games. Saturday's result was also its first double-digit loss to Japan since a 100-85 defeat at the 1979 Asian Championship.
Korea, ranked No. 57 in the world, fell behind 11-0 in the opening minutes and never recovered against No. 22 Japan. The hosts led 46-27 at halftime and stretched the gap to 32 points when Josh Hawkinson scored for a 68-36 lead with 3:05 left in the third quarter. Korea outscored Japan 22-14 in the fourth, but the deficit was already too large to overcome.
The two teams had met six weeks earlier, a game Korea won 81-79 on July 6.
That game represented Korea's only win in five games under Latvian head coach Nikolajs Mazurs. The Korea Basketball Association approved his appointment in November of last year, and he is the first foreign head coach in the men's national team's history.
The squad held a training camp before this trip, and the run of results has drawn criticism at home over whether hiring a foreign coach has achieved anything.
Korea's Kang Sung-wook, center carries the ball up court during the second half of a friendly basketball game against Japan in Tokyo on Aug. 15.AP/YONHAP
Japan pulled most of its starters from late in the third quarter, which was the only reason Korea managed to close the gap at all. The Japanese bench stayed relaxed and smiling throughout, and the broadcast caught some of the home crowd watching with bored expressions.
Japan, which had called up its strongest available squad, got exactly the dominant performance it expected from its stars.
Japan's lineup included two NBA players. Los Angeles Clippers forward Rui Hachimura scored a game-high 22 points in less than 24 minutes. Guard Yuki Kawamura, who played for the Chicago Bulls last season, added 12 points and six assists.
Korea played without forward Lee Hyun-jung, who is in the United States pursuing an NBA roster spot. Forward Lee Woo-suk led Korea with 14 points and five rebounds.
Korea's women's team had already lost twice to Japan at the same arena on Thursday and Friday. The Korean national teams have not won a game on the trip.
Korea's Byeon Jun-hyeong, right tries to dribble past Japan's Ryusei Sasaki during the second half of a friendly basketball game in Tokyo on Aug. 15.AP/YONHAP
Korea and Japan will meet again Sunday at Ariake Arena. The exhibition games are tune-ups for the second round of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers, which will begin later this month, and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September.
Korea will open the qualifying round at Lebanon on Aug. 27. Korea and Japan are also in the same Asian Games group with Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, and will meet on Sept. 13.
BY PIH JU-YOUNG [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
