Asian Games S. Korea captures gold in men's 3x3 basketball
Qatar's Nazar Mahmoud and Mohammed Abbasher in action against South Korea's Lee Ju-yeong during the men's 3x3 basketball gold medal match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Kinjo-futo Station Square, Japan, Sept. 25. Reuters-Yonhap
NAGOYA, Japan — South Korea won its first Asian Games gold medal in men's 3x3 basketball on Friday.
South Korea beat Qatar 19-10 for the title at Kinjo Futo Station Square Venue in Nagoya.
The South Korean team featured four collegiate players in Lee Ju-yeong, Kim Seung-woo, Lee Dong-geun and Ku Min-gyo, with each nation carrying a backup.
Lee Ju-yeong led his team with nine points and drained three shots from behind the arc.
Earlier in the day, the South Korean women's team beat Thailand 21-8 for the bronze medal.
The South Korean men's team won gold in the 5x5 tournament last Sunday, and the women's 5x5 team reached the final by beating China in the semifinals on Friday.
The 3x3 title was South Korea's 800th gold in its Asian Games history.
The 3x3 basketball made its Asiad debut in 2018. South Korea won silver then and finished fourth in 2023, before reaching the pinnacle here Friday.
The 3x3 game is played over a single 10-minute period, with shots from behind the arc counting as two-pointers and those inside the line counting for one point each.
South Korea clung to a 6-4 lead at the halfway mark, and then Lee Ju-yeong connected from long distance to extend the lead to 8-4.
Another bucket by Kim Seung-woo pushed the lead to 9-4.
South Korea led 11-6 with 1:29 left, before Lee Dong-geun and Lee Ju-yeong each made two-point shots to put the game out of Qatar's reach. Lee Dong-geun then capped off the win with a layup with 4.6 ticks left.
He led the team with six rebounds, while Kim contributed five points and four boards.