INCHEON, Oct 1 (AFP): The South Korea men's team thrilled a large home crowd with an improved second-half defensive display Wednesday to reach the Asian Games basketball final by beating Japan 71-63.
But there was nearly a huge upset in the other semi-final when unbeaten favourites Iran were almost humbled by unfancied Kazakhstan, but edged home 80-78.
Japan led most of the first half against the Koreans with Naoto Tsuji rattling home three of his game-high five three-pointers as he dished out an early shooting lesson at the Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon.
"We knew they liked those mid-range jump shots and we tried to take those away, but the other guys got loose for a lot of threes," Korea's "T.J." Moon Tae-Jong told.
"It was a little frustrating in the first half. We knew they were good shooters but we didn't expect them to make that many threes in the beginning."
South Korea to face Iran in basketball final
FE Team | Published: October 02, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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