Three days before the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games opening, South Korea's men's basketball team faces Jordan for a spot in the semifinals. The team aims to carry its three-game group stage winning streak into the knockout round and keep alive its bid for a first gold medal in 12 years.
South Korea, coached by Nikolajs Mazurs of Latvia, meets Jordan in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. on the 16th at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan. The team beat Saudi Arabia on the 10th, Indonesia on the 11th and Japan on the 13th to finish first in Group A with a 3-0 record. The 100-83 win over Japan was especially emphatic.
Twelve nations were split into three groups for the men's basketball group stage. Teams were then ranked overall by their results to set the quarterfinal bracket. South Korea finished second overall behind China, which went 3-0 in Group C, and drew Jordan, the Group B third-place team that ranked seventh overall.
Jordan finished third in Group B behind Iran and Taiwan. But Jordan sits 41st in the FIBA world rankings, ahead of South Korea at 57th, and took silver behind the Philippines at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
South Korea will lean on Lee Hyun-jung, its ace and a consistent performer in the group stage, along with Lee Jung-hyun. Lee Jung-hyun dominated the third quarter against Japan and has found his scoring touch, while Lee Hyun-jung has been steady throughout the group stage. Veterans Lee Seung-hyun and Jang Jae-suk hold down the paint, and outside shooting from players such as Yoo Ki-sang adds firepower. Forward Choi Jun-yong, who sat out the group stage while pursuing an opportunity in the United States, is set to join the team from the quarterfinals.
A win over Jordan would put South Korea against the winner of Iran-Bahrain for a place in the final. After finishing a record-low seventh at the last Games in Hangzhou, South Korea is chasing its first gold in 12 years. The team won the title at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, reached the semifinals in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018 and was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Hangzhou in 2023. This time it hopes to ride its 3-0 group stage form deep into the tournament and return to the top of Asian basketball.
