Men’s Basketball: New European Head Coach Named After 12 Years

They achieved two consecutive wins against China under the interim manager system. The new coach who will take charge of the national basketball team must create a system to ensure that the current momentum does not remain a ‘temporary phenomenon.’

The Korean national basketball team, led by acting coach Jeon Hee-cheol, won both the first and second games against China in the 2027 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Basketball World Cup Asian regional qualifier held on the 28th and 1st of last month. It is the first time in 12 years since 2013 that the Korean national basketball team has won two games in a row against China. Korea, which is inferior in both the opponent record and the FIBA ​​rankings, newly proved its competitiveness in international competitions through this two-game series.

It is even more encouraging because it is their second consecutive win, achieved right after losing 71-79 to China in the FIBA ​​Asia Cup quarterfinals last August. Korea, led by former coach Ahn Jun-ho at the time, was unable to defeat China despite the combined efforts of overseas players Yeo Jun-seok and Lee Hyun-joong. A large number of goals were conceded to tall players such as Hu Jinchu (210cm) and Wang Junje (206cm).

The Korea Basketball Association decided not to extend Coach Ahn’s contract after the end of the Asia Cup. The association held a contest for a new director in October, but was unable to find a suitable candidate. In the end, Seoul SK coach Jeon Hee-cheol served as acting coach, and Changwon LG coach Cho Sang-hyun served as acting coach and led the game against China.

Wang Junje and Zhao Rui, who played as aces during the Asia Cup, were missing in this two-game series. However, Korea also played the game without key players such as Yeo Jun-seok and Yoo Yu-sang. This is a part where we can expect complete performance.

Guo Shiqiang, coach of the Chinese national basketball team, said in an interview after the loss to Korea on the 1st, “The first and second games against Korea were very difficult games. Today, Korea played a better game in offense and defense,” and added, “It has become difficult to proceed to the next round of the preliminary round.” Hu Jin-chu, who scored only 10 points in the second game, said, “It is a cruel fact that we lost to Korea for the second time in a row,” and pointed out, “There is a lot of room for improvement.”

Coach Guo Shiqiang compared this two-game series with the Asia Cup in August and said, “Korea changed its coach after the Asia Cup. Only 7 players (out of 12 members of the Korean national team) are the same as then,” and added, “Korea took a strategy of making more moves this time.”

The Great Wall of China has been crossed in 12 years, but what comes next is a problem. ‘Temporary head coach’ Jeon and coach Cho will now return to their respective teams, SK and LG, to lead professional league games.

After the game on the 1st, coach Jeon said, “I am not continuing to coach the national team, so it was important to bring out the capabilities of the Korean national team players. I did a lot of research with coach Cho Sang-hyun on how to utilize the players’ strengths.” He said, “If China, a strong team, plays against Korea at 100% condition, there is a high possibility that we will lose. We did everything we could in a short period of time.”

The association plans to officially appoint a new manager from Latvia sometime this week. He is the first foreign coach in the history of the Korean basketball team. The new coach must lead major matches through the remaining group stages of the Basketball World Cup and the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The ‘handover’ of the temporary command tower has become important.

Reporter Lee Du-ri redo@kyunghyang.com