Korean Men's Basketball will Play its First Asia Cup Qualifier Against World No. 4 Australia on the 22nd
The Korean men's basketball team begins the first round of the 2025 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup qualifiers with a trip to Australia.
Korea, led by coach Ahn Jun-ho, will play an away match against Australia in Group A of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in Bendigo, Australia, on the 22nd.
The 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers will be divided into six groups, and the top two from each group will advance to the finals. 카지노
Of the six countries that finished third in the group, four will join the finals, which will determine the 16 countries that will participate in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.
Korea, ranked 51st in the FIBA rankings, is placed in Group A along with Australia (4th), Indonesia (74th), and Thailand (91st), and will hold home-and-away qualifying until February 2025.
The 2025 FIBA Asia Cup finals will be held in Saudi Arabia in August 2025.
Following the away game against Australia on the 22nd, Korea will play a home game against Thailand at Wonju Stadium in Gangwon-do on the 25th.
Korea's first opponent, Australia, is a strong team that has won the last two Asia Cups in 2017 and 2022.
The current world ranking is 4th, the highest in Asia.
Australia is followed by New Zealand in 21st place and Japan in 26th place.
However, active NBA players such as Josh Gidey, Joe Ingles, and Ben Simmons will not play in this game against Korea.
Looking at the list of players participating in the match against Korea on the FIBA Internet website, 11 of Australia's 12 players are from the Australian league, and the remaining one is a player playing in the Japanese league.
Six players, equivalent to half of the roster, are over 200cm tall, and although he is a young player born in 2006, the name of Rocco Zikaski, who is 217cm tall, stands out.
Zikaski is a player who is said to have ample potential to advance to the NBA in the future, recording 13.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks at the 2022 Under-17 World Cup.
In Australia, 6 out of 12 players are young players born after 2001.
The most recent match between Korea and Australia was at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, where Korea lost 55-89.
Our national team convened on the 16th and departed for Australia on the afternoon of the 19th.
La Geon-ah (KCC) is the captain, and Kim Jong-gyu (DB), Lee Jeong-hyeon (Sono), and Song Kyo-chang (KCC) are expected to play the main roles.
Rookie Park Moo-bin (Hyundai Mobis), born in 2001, is the youngest.
Korean men's basketball failed to advance to the semifinals at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games, and is attempting to regain its honor through this Asia Cup preliminary round.
Before leaving the country on the 19th, coach Ahn Jun-ho said, "In pursuit of a new national team compared to the past, we decided on the slogan 'One Team Korea'."
He added, "As we are inferior in height compared to Australia, we need to focus on speed through quick offense and defense transitions."
“I will show off my basketball skills,” he said.
Coupang Play will broadcast the match between Korea and Australia live from 4:30 pm on the 22nd.