The basketball team, led by head coach Ahn Joon-ho, lost 80-88 in the second round of the Softbank Cup against Japan at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on the 7th.
South Korea, which won 85-84 on the 5th, finished the away warm-up match with 1 win and 1 loss. The goals of the two teams in this warm-up match were different.
Japan, ranked 26th in the FIBA rankings, played a time to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics, while South Korea, ranked 50th in the FIBA, prepared for the preliminary round of the "2025 FIBA Asia Cup" in November.
In response, Japan formed a team with the best, and Ahn Jun-ho was composed of young players with an average age of 24 years, including Byun Joon-hyung (Sangmu) and Ha Yoon-ki (Suwon KT).
Although the game was not expected to be easy, South Korea won a new victory in the first game and lost in the second face-off.
While Lee Jung-hyun (Koyang Sono) struggled with 23 points and 5 assists, Lee Won-seok (Seoul Samsung) and Yoo Ki-sang (Changwon LG) helped with 18 points and 17 points, respectively.
South Korea led the first quarter 22-19, but gave Japan the flow from the second quarter. 동행복권파워볼
Ahn Jun-ho narrowed the gap to six points at the end of the fourth quarter with Lee Jung-hyun at the forefront, but failed to come from behind.
The Korean national team, which finished the away trip to Japan with one win and one loss, is scheduled to return home through Incheon International Airport on the 8th.