The Korean men's basketball team will play Indonesia and Australia in the preliminary round of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.온라인바카라

The Korean men's basketball team, led by head coach Ahn Joon-ho, will play the third and fourth rounds of the Asian Cup qualifiers in Indonesia on the 21st and Australia on the 24th at Goyang Sono Arena.

The preliminary round for the Asian Cup will be divided into six groups of four countries. Four of the six countries ranked first, second and third in each group will qualify for the finals.

Sixteen countries will compete in the 2025 Asian Cup finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in August next year.

South Korea, ranked 53rd in the FIBA rankings, was in Group A of the preliminary round along with Australia (7th), Indonesia (77th), and Thailand (88th).

South Korea suffered a come-from-behind loss to Australia 71-85 in the first leg, an away loss in February. It beat Thailand 96-62 in the second leg, their home game at Wonju Gymnasium.

South Korea, which has one win and one loss, is in second place in Group A after Australia, which has won two games.

Chances are high that Australia, which has the highest FIBA ranking in Group A, will rank No. 1 in the group. If Korea wins the match against Indonesia, it can have an advantage in the race for No. 2.

The national team, which has been conducting convocation training since the 15th, has not been at its best due to the injury of some players.

Lee Jung-hyun (Koyang Sono), who played the ace role in a friendly match against Japan in May, left the team due to a knee injury. Lee is not expected to be able to return until January next year.

In addition, Ha Yoon-ki, Moon Jung-hyun (hereinafter Suwon KT), and Kim Jong-kyu (Wonju DB) also failed to join the national team due to injuries.

Ahn appointed Jonghyun Lee (Anyang Jeong Kwan-jang), Yang Hong-seok (Sangmu), Shin Seung-min (Daegu Korea Gas Corporation), and Moon Yoo-hyun (Korea University) as their replacements. Moon is the only college student.

With Ra Gun-ah, who played with the national flag until February, ending her contract with the Korea Basketball Association in May, the departure of native big men Ha Yoon-ki and Kim Jong-kyu is regrettable.

The national team expects Lee Hyun-joong, who has won the national flag for the first time in three years.

Lee Hyun-joong, who played in the U.S. college basketball, the NBA's lower league, the G League, the Australian League, and the Japanese B League, returned to the national team for the first time in three years since 2021, when he played in the 2022 Asian Cup qualifying round and the final qualifying round for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Lee Hyun-joong, a 201cm tall shooter, is the biggest weapon to shoot from the outside. Analysts say that the defense, which was considered a weakness, has also been supplemented.

Lee Hyun-joong, who is playing in the Australian League for the second season, is expected to be selected in the match against Australia.

Lee Hyun-joong does not look in a bad condition. The Illawarra Hawks of Australia played 21 minutes and scored 16 points in a game against the Sydney Kings on Saturday. He hit four 3-pointers.

Korea aims to avenge its loss in the match against Australia. In an away match against Australia in February this year, Korea trailed the latter by a score of 38-27, but suffered an upset loss due to lack of confidence.