(Asiad) Latvian-born hoops coach for S. Korea silences critics with gold

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- Nikolajs Mazurs lost his first three games in charge of the South Korean men's basketball team after being appointed last December, and the team lost more games than it won under the Latvian coach entering the Asian Games -- causing many to wonder if he was the right man to lead the squad back to glory at the quadrennial event.

But with each passing game in central Japan, South Korea demonstrated marked improvements in all aspects, with its smothering defense and efficient offense. It all culminated Sunday in the gold medal in Nagoya, where South Korea beat the home team Japan 67-57.

Lee Hyun-jung, a Davidson product pursuing National Basketball Association dreams, capped a memorable tournament with game-high totals of 27 points and 18 rebounds. But as big as Lee was throughout the tournament, South Korea was not a one-man team.

After every game, Lee never missed a chance to thank his teammates, especially bigs Lee Seoung-hyun and Jang Jae-seok, for their selfless plays, setting screens to create open looks for him and banging bodies down low to grab rebounds and start fast breaks. Guards Lee Jung-hyun and Moon Jeong-hyeon played dogged on-ball defense all tournament.

And to a man, players spoke of finally starting to play the type of basketball that Mazurs long wanted them to play -- being physical on defense and making extra passes on offense, for instance. With the collective buy-in combining with individual brilliance of Lee Hyun-jung, South Korea went from a suspect to the champion in a matter of days at the Asian Games.

Sunday's gold was South Korea's first in men's hoops since 2014, when it defeated Iran on home soil of Incheon, and its first at an away Asian Games since 1982.

The next big task for Mazurs is to send South Korea to the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup and earn a ticket to the 2028 Olympics.