Canada (0-1) v. South Korea (0-1)
When: Wednesday, July 28 at 9 p.m. ET (10 a.m. local time)
Where: Saitama Super Arena
Where are we :
Seek to bounce back: After a short 72-68 defeat against Serbia to start their Tokyo 2020 Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament On Monday, Team Canada will seek a victory over South Korea, 19th in the world rankings for their second game in Tokyo. While Canada lost to Serbia in their opener, South Korea also needs the win after losing to Spain 73-69 on Monday.
A very anticipated return: The Tokyo 2020 Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament is the first Olympic Games for the Korean Women’s Basketball Team since 2008. Even though Spain won on Monday, the game was close for the first three quarters as the Spain led by just one point before starting the last quarter and then taking the lead over their opponents. It was South Korea’s first game in 13 years, Spain arrived in Tokyo as third in the world rankings, and silver medalist at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
Familiar faces: WNBA fans watching the game from home are likely to recognize Park Ji Su, who plays for the Las Vegas Aces. Park, a 6-foot-4 center, finished in a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Monday’s loss to Spain. She also added 4 assists, 3 blocks and an interception. In addition to playing for the Aces in WNBA, Park, 22, also plays in the Korean Women’s Basketball League where she was named WKBL MVP in the 2020-2021 season.
What to know before Canada meets South Korea at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games:
Exceptional performance: In Canada’s loss to Serbia, Nirra Fields finished top scorer in the game with 19 points, while Kia Nurse added 16 points and Shay Colley added 12 points. Kang Leeseul was her team’s top scorer in the loss to Spain, with a total of 26 points and seven rebounds. Park Ji Su also added 17 points and 10 rebounds for South Korea. Even though both teams lost their first game of this Olympic tournament, the two almost identical scores show how hard these games were in the group stage of Group A.
“Every game at the Olympics is important,” said Team Canada head coach Lisa Thomaidis. “We’re here to win them all so our approach doesn’t change. South Korea narrowly lost to Spain earlier today. There has been a lot of commentary about the parity of the full draw. Each team is able to beat anyone. It will be important for us to respond and win this meeting. “
Do it with defense: After Canada suffered in the first half in their opener against Serbia, the team came back into the game in the third quarter thanks to their intensity and efforts in defense. Canada’s defense helped cause 28 stray bullets for the Serbs in Monday’s game, including eight in the third quarter the Canadians won 17-9, allowing them to return to the game.
“We have an experienced squad with players who have confidence in their teammates,” said Thomaidis of her team’s efforts in this third quarter. “We need to get back to basics and play Canadian basketball. When we did that, we made a few stops, we knocked them down in defense, we knew how to play the transitions and we had good results. Our attack will come from our defense. “
Possession after possession: Even though Canada failed to beat Serbia, the game served as an important reminder for Canada’s first full-squad game since February 2020. When the going gets tough, or open shots don’t fit not, you have to control the things that we can control – the intensity in defense, the energy, the tenacity – all of that will help us in the attack. It’s also a way of staying present.
“Personally, for me and for the team, you take it game after game,” Nirra Fields said after Monday’s game. “We know we have a very good defense. We are very proud of our defense. We know our offense isn’t working, our best offense is defense. “
Where to watch: Fans in Canada will be able to follow the game live on CBC and streamed live on CBC Gem.
