20 September 2023 By Jihoon Kim
South Korea's under-16 men's basketball team lost to New Zealand in the first round of the 2023 International Basketball Federation U-16 Asian Championships
The South Korean national team, led by head coach Kim Hyun-soo, lost 83-81 in the first Group C match of the tournament in Doha, Qatar.
South Korea, which lost in the first round, will try to advance to the quarterfinals against Bahrain on the 18th and Jordan on the 19th.
The tournament will be held in groups of 16 teams in four groups, and four teams in each group and four teams in the second and third place teams that won the playoffs will play in the quarterfinals.
Trailing by five points, South Korea managed to tie the game 76-76 with about a minute left, thanks to Yoon Ji-hoon's three-point shot following Eddie Daniel's assist and Daniel's layup following So Ji-ho's steal, but they couldn't turn the game in their favor.
New Zealand's Ihaka Kate made one of two free throws earned by Umjihu's foul in the remaining seven seconds to take an 83-81 lead. South Korea failed to score in the remaining time.
Despite the efforts of Yang Woo-hyuk and Yoon Ji-hoon, who scored 19 points each, the team failed to prevent the defeat.
Mixed-race player Daniel, who was born to a British father and a Korean mother, also stood out by donating 18 points.
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