The fears were realized. South Korea suffered its most dismal performance in Asian Games history.
The South Korean men’s basketball team lost 82-89 to Iran in the fifth through eighth place game of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Thursday at Zhejiang University’s Jingang Gymnasium.
Ragan-ah (23 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals) and Heo Hoon (18 points, three 3-pointers, eight assists) split time, but it wasn’t enough against Iran, which had five players in double figures.
South Korea’s lowest finish at an Asian Games was in Doha 2006. The Koreans finished fifth, a humiliating result.
Hangzhou was the last time Korea had won a medal in the Games, 17 years after Doha, but there was still some “last pride” left. If they lost to Iran, it would have been their worst finish in Asian Games history.
However, the Koreans were unable to save their last shred of pride. The Koreans came out firing in the second quarter, with Ragan hitting back-to-back three-pointers to make it 20-21, but faltered again in the third quarter, when the score was 48-40. They were held to just three points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, giving up 10 points in the process.아톰카지노
Korea was unable to control the Iranian firepower that erupted simultaneously afterward, allowing them to pull away. A three-pointer by Byun Joon-hyung just before the end of the third quarter brought the score to 63-66, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.
After a breakdown in perimeter defense at the start of the fourth quarter, which quickly widened the gap to double digits, Korea lost momentum as Ragan and Heo Hoon split time, but lost the battle for possessions at every turn. Jeon Sung-hyun hit a three-pointer with a minute left in the game to close the gap to six points, but there was no more to come.
With their last shreds of pride gone, Korea will play the Saudi Arabia-Japan loser for 7th-8th place on Nov. 6.