South Korea holds nerve to win Asian Games basketball gold over Japan

Nagoya – South Korea found its composure when it mattered most to win the women’s basketball gold at the Asian Games, surviving a huge scare to beat host Japan 75-70 in Saturday’s final.

The South Koreans took control of the game early and looked to be cruising towards their fourth Asian Games title and their first since 2014.

But Japan, backed by a noisy crowd at the 17,000-capacity Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, roared back to within two points late in the game until South Korea finally saw out the win.

Kang Lee-seul, who scored 21 points for South Korea including three crucial late free throws, said the pressure almost cost them the victory.

“I could feel our players’ minds were getting too busy, so I kept telling them to stay calm and to be a little more precise,” she said.

“I think I was constantly trying to encourage them and calm them down.”

The win came six days after South Korea beat Japan in the men’s final.

The South Koreans dominated in the first quarter, building a 15-3 lead to set the tone.

They looked comfortable until Japan finished the third quarter strongly and hit a three-pointer right at the buzzer.

Japan then closed the gap further in the fourth quarter, but South Korea held on to get the win over the line.

“We could actually have won by a much bigger margin but they caught up with us,” said Kang.

“Putting all of that aside, in the end we achieved this great result of winning the gold medal, so right now I’m extremely happy.”

Lee Hae-ran was South Korea’s top scorer with 24 points. Japan were led by Haru Owaki with 23 points.

Every player in South Korea’s squad also featured at the Women’s World Cup in Germany earlier this month, where it lost to the host in the first knockout round.

Japan was also eliminated at the same stage at the World Cup but it brought an entirely different squad to the Asian Games.

Japan was looking to win the Asian Games title for the first time since 1998.

Japan’s Miyu Okamoto said her team matched South Korea for skill at the start of the game but “we were overwhelmed by their spirit.”

“If we had a better start, I think we would have had a much better chance of winning,” she said.