(Asiad) S. Korea to be without top center for women's basketball tournament

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- The women's national basketball team will compete at the Asian Games in Japan without its top center Park Ji-su, the sport's national federation announced Monday.

The Korea Basketball Association (KBA) said Park has not fully recovered from her ankle injury in time for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Park, 27, has long been South Korea's go-to center at 193 centimeters. She is a four-time MVP in the Women's Korean Basketball League and has also played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the United States.

"Park Ji-su really wanted to make the national team and has been in constant communication with the coaching staff. She has been working hard to get back in time," the KBA said. "However, considering her current physical state and her recovery, she will not be able to play at the Asian Games."

The KBA said it will not pick a replacement for Park and will take 11 players to the tournament.

Head coach Park Soo-ho said the current group of players, minus the center, has been building chemistry since the start of the summer.

"As disappointing as it is not to have Park Ji-su, we want to now concentrate on getting the most out of the 11 players we have at the moment, rather than adding someone new at this point," the coach said.

South Korea will also be without its lone WNBA player, Park Ji-hyun, due to her commitments to the Los Angeles Sparks.

South Korea is trying to win its first women's basketball gold medal since 2014. The journey starts with the Group C contest against Malaysia at 10 a.m. Friday at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan.

South Korea will next play Mongolia at 1 p.m. next Monday and then close out the preliminary round against Chinese Taipei at 4 p.m. on Sept. 22 -- all at the same Nagoya venue.

There are two groups of four and one group of three in the women's tournament. The two best teams from each group and the two best third-place teams will qualify for the quarterfinals.