(Asiad) Veteran basketball forward says team overcame challenges in opening victory

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- From playing through jet lag to taking shots at an unfamiliar court, South Korea dealt with challenges as it began the women's basketball tournament at the Asian Games against Malaysia on Friday.

Veteran forward Choi I-saem, the team's oldest player at 32, said she and her teammates refused to make excuses and tackled those issues head-on, which is why they were able to come away with a 106-40 victory at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya.

The final score belied some early shooting problems for South Korea, which missed its first nine field goal attempts and went 1-of-14 out of the gate. It was Choi's three-pointer with 3:58 left in the opening quarter that gave South Korea a 9-8 lead, and South Korea never trailed the rest of the way.

"We struggled early on, but we talked a lot about tightening things up on the defensive end after the first half," Choi said. "In upcoming games, we want to play at a faster pace and play even stronger defense."

Choi, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and two steals, attributed the first-quarter shooting problems to the players' unfamiliarity, saying they had never played at the arena before. And with all due respect to Malaysia, Choi said it can sometimes be difficult to focus when going up against a heavy underdog.

"We were not really in sync, and the coach got quite angry," Choi said. "We woke up and started creating some good looks on the offensive end. We then managed to keep it up the rest of the way. We knew that we could win the game as long as we kept making the plays that we are capable of making."

Choi said the South Korean players are still trying to get over jet lag, having only recently returned from Germany to play at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

"We spent about four days back home before flying here," she said. "We left the tournament in Germany just when we felt we were finally getting used to the time zone there. And then we ended up leaving Korea for Japan without having fully adjusted back to our time zone. But this is something we have to overcome."

Choi also saw a bright side to the jet lag issue.

"I think this has forced us to talk to each other more," she said. "And this will ultimately help us play better going forward."

Choi, one of just three players on the team at 30 or older, said she is drawing inspiration from her younger teammates.

"They bring so much energy and speed," Choi said. "It has been great to see. I think my performance will fluctuate depending on how I feel on that given day, but as a veteran, I want to lead the team by example."