The Korea National Under-16 (U-16) Men’s Basketball Team fell to New Zealand in the inaugural edition of the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship 2023.
The South Korean team, led by head coach Kim Hyun-soo, dropped an 81-83 decision to New Zealand on Sunday in Doha, Qatar, in the first game of Group C of the tournament.
After losing the first game, South Korea will try to advance to the quarterfinals against Bahrain on Nov. 18 and Jordan on Nov. 19.
The 16-team tournament is divided into four groups, with the top four teams in each group and the second- and third-place teams winning playoffs to advance to the quarterfinals.
Trailing by five points, South Korea tied the game at 76-76 with 1:20 left on a three-pointer by Yoon Ji-hoon (Samseonjoong) off an assist from Eddie Daniel (Yongsan-Go) and a layup by Daniel off a steal by So Soo-ho (Murong-Go).
However, South Korea was unable to pull off the upset.
With seven seconds left, New Zealand’s Kate Ihaka converted one of two free throws from Uhm Ji Hoo (Pyeongwon Jungang) to make it a two-point game, 83-81, and Korea was unable to score the rest of the way.
Yang Woo-hyuk (Samilgo) and Yoon Ji-hoon battled back with 19 points apiece, but could not prevent their team from losing.
Daniel, who was born to a British father and a Korean mother and is being eyed as a mixed-race player, also contributed 18 points. 안전놀이터
