"Hyunjoong Lee Sinks Seven Three-Pointers" Men's Basketball Advances to Final with Dominant 26-Point Win over Iran

Hyunjoong Lee Shines with 26 Points and 4 Assists

The South Korean men's basketball team, aiming for its first Asian Games gold medal in 12 years, has advanced to the finals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

The men's basketball team, led by head coach Nikolajs Mazurs, defeated Iran 77-51 in the tournament semifinals held at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on the 18th.

With this win, the men's basketball team has secured at least a silver medal, becoming the first among the Korean delegation to guarantee a medal at this edition. The men's basketball event started on the 10th, and will conclude with the medal match on the 20th, the day after the official opening ceremony. Mazurs' squad will face the winner of the Japan-China semifinal for the gold medal on the 20th.

This marks South Korea's first advancement to the men's basketball final at the Asian Games since the 2014 Incheon Games, where they won a gold medal. With today's win, South Korea broke a six-game losing streak against Iran since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games final.

Hyun-Jung Lee is attempting a shot during the men's basketball semifinals against Iran at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 18th at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan. Photo by Yonhap News

Hyunjoong Lee led the team to victory by scoring 26 points, including seven three-pointers. His three-point shooting rate reached 54%, and he also recorded a team-high four assists. Wooseok Lee and Junghyun Lee each contributed three three-pointers, adding 19 and 11 points respectively.

South Korea attempted 33 three-point shots and made 14 of them, achieving a high three-point shooting rate of 42%. In contrast, Iran's success rate was just 9%, converting only two of 23 attempts.

In the first quarter, South Korea scored all 12 points from three-pointers. After Junghyun Lee made the first three-pointer to seize early momentum, consecutive three-pointers by Hyunjoong Lee and an outside shot by Wooseok Lee helped secure a 12-8 lead at the end of the quarter.

Wooseok Lee opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, followed by Junghyun Lee's free throw and a putback by Hyunjoong Lee after an offensive rebound. With 6:19 remaining in the second quarter, South Korea expanded the lead to 21-10. Maintaining control throughout, South Korea finished the first half ahead 36-24.

South Korea maintained a lead of at least 10 points throughout the third quarter. With 3:46 left in the quarter, Hyunjoong Lee hit a three-pointer to put the team up 50-33. At the end of the quarter, Lee completed a four-point play by adding a free throw after a three-pointer, and South Korea ended the third quarter with a commanding 61-37 lead.

In the fourth quarter, South Korea did not allow Iran any opportunity to rally and clinched the match with a decisive 26-point victory.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.