(Asiad) Final-bound hoops coach praises defensive effort: 'We deserved to win today'

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- After South Korea outlasted Iran in a low-scoring affair to reach the men's basketball final at the Asian Games on Friday, head coach Nikolajs Mazurs praised his team's defensive work.

South Korea prevailed 77-51 in the semifinals at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, after holding Iran to just 25 percent shooting. Iran made only two out of 23 attempts from behind the arc. South Korea will now go for its first gold since 2014.

"Our main goal was to rebound the ball, and after that, we could find our situations," Mazurs said. "I think we did great teamwork defensively and we deserved to win today."

The teams threw one brick after another in the opening moments. South Korea won the first quarter 12-8, scoring all of its points on four three-point shots.

South Korea found its groove in the middle quarters, outscoring Iran 49-29 to take a commanding 61-37 lead into the final frame.

Forward Lee Hyun-jung led the way with 26 points. He connected on seven out of 13 attempts from downtown.

"The Korean team is a shooters team, so they shoot a lot and they make a lot. That's what we want," he said. "We want our shooters to shoot the ball. At the beginning, we needed to find the rhythm, we needed to do the work and screen better. We tried to find some situations from the mismatch. If they hedged on the ball, we tried to move the ball quickly to our guys around and make them play against the closeouts.

"I think we did a good job to have 22 assists," the coach continued. "Hyun-jung made a couple of difficult shots, but that's his game. I think most of the shots were pretty open today."

Captain Lee Seoung-hyun, who is playing in his third Asian Games at age 34, thanked his teammates for following his lead.

"This has been such a tight group from the beginning, and our chemistry is only getting better," Lee said. "Young guys have been doing an incredible job on defense. There is nothing more I can say about their effort today."

South Korea will face either China or Japan in Sunday's final, and Lee said it did not matter who comes out of that side of the bracket.

"Right now, it is really not important whom we play. It is all about us," Lee said. "As long as we stay together as a team, we are not afraid of anyone."

Forward Lee Woo-suk, who contributed 19 points with a trio of three-pointers, said defense and rebounding have become the defining features of the national team.

"The coach always wants us to be aggressive and not back down against anyone," he said. "We have been working on our tactics since June, and I think we have a more natural flow to the way we play. We all know where everyone is supposed to be."