All Roads Lead to Manila: Gilas Entry #23 – South Korea & Malaysia Team Previews

It is July 28, 2013 here in Manila, and there are only 4 nights left before the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championship Tournament, the first ever held in these parts in four decades, kicks off at the ultramodern Mall of Asia Arena and the historic Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Now that the rosters of the participating teams have finally been revealed and confirmed, I can finally make the customary team-by-team previews of the tournament. This is, of course, something not done in much detail by other media outfits, so I am pretty excited. I plan to go through the groups starting with Group D and ending with Group A. Each post will focus on two teams, with the exception of the Group C preview, which will include all three squads since FIBA Asia wasn’t able to find a well-prepared replacement for the suspended Lebanese (I am still sad I won’t see Fadi El Khatib play).

For this third post, I will look at a SEABA team seeking to rebuild and a traditional Asian powerhouse in the midst of transition.

Korea's Kim Sun-Hyung should turn a lot
of heads in the 2013 FIBA Asia tourney.
(image from the KBL)

I will name a few key players for each team, some points of interest, and the general outlook for its performance. Where possible, I will also specify the team’s international nickname/moniker. Please note that a country’s basketball team usually uses the same moniker as its football team, with a few notable exceptions of course.

Game? Alright. Lezz do dis.

Folks, I present to you Malaysia and South Korea.

MALAYSIA (MAS)

Moniker: Sang Harimau (Malaysian Tigers)

Qualification: Placed second in the 2013 SEABA Tournament to qualify, beating Indonesia and Singapore, but losing to Thailand.

Last FIBA Asia Appearance: 2011 – 3 wins & 5 losses – Beat India and Uzbekistan (twice), but lost to South Korea, Lebanon, Iran, Taiwan, and UAE.

Ban Sin Ooi goes up for a lay-up against the Uzbeks.

Roster:

Name	Age	Height	Position
Ban Sin Ooi	30	5’11	G
Tian Yuan Kuek	22	6’8	C/F
Eng Heng Soo	29	6’0	G
Sing Tee Ng	24	5’11	G
Wee Seng Wong	25	6’0	G
Wei Hong Choo	21	6’5	F/C
Wen Keong Tong	21	5’10	G
Hong Hoong Gan	23	6’2	G/F
Ivan Yeo	20	6’4	F
Ching Yong Wong	25	6’4	F/C
Kiat Kee Ng	25	6’5	C
Min Joe Foong	25	6’6	C

Key Players:

1) Ban Sin Ooi – Ban was one of the top shooters from the Malaysian team that played in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championships, the 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the 2011 SEA Games, and the 2013 SEABA Tournament. He is also the most senior guy on this team. Needless to say, without many of the mainstays of the Malaysian NT, Ban will have to carry a big chunk of the scoring load.

2) Tian Yuan Kuek– Tian first played for the Malaysian NT as a thin 18-year old way back in 2009. He was the third-string back-up center to veteran Lee Wei Chee and then up-and-comer Yoong Jing Kwaan. Without both of those guys in the current Malaysian roster, and with his being the tallest guy in the team, Tian will have to be the main man in the middle for coach Teh Choon Yean. I don’t envy him, of course, as he will have to go up against some of the best bigs in the continent – Wang Zhizhi, Hamed Haddadi, and Kim Joo-Sung.

Point of Interest:

1) Rebuild– In this most recent iteration of the Sang Harimau, there are exactly just three (3) holdovers from the 2011 Wuhan tournament. This is a little strange, since Malaysia did pretty well in that joust, winning against a more favored Indian side and upending the heftier Uzbeks twice. Finishing 11^th was their highest since placing 9^th in the 1989 ABC Tournament. Ban is actually the only remaining player from their main (read: starting) backcourt, with veterans Guga Batumalai and Shee Fai-Loh sitting this one out. Taking all these into consideration, we can surmise that Malaysia is in rebuilding mode, and that they are probably more focused on readying their youngsters for the upcoming SEA Games in Myanmar rather than actually advancing to the next round.

Tournament Outlook:

Though the Malaysians have next-to-zero chances of advancing to round two, that would be fine, since their main objective is to gain experience for their young guys and hope that this will help them in future battles. Of course, getting blown out three straight times in the first round might have the opposite effect on these guys’ self-esteem, too.

SOUTH KOREA (KOR)

Moniker: Taeguk Warriors

Qualification: Clinched the championship in the 2013 EABA Tournament, beating Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and China.

Last FIBA Asia Appearance: 2011 – 7 wins & 2 losses – Beat Malaysia, Lebanon, India, Uzbekistan, Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines, but lost to Iran and China.

Roster:

Name	Age	Height	Position
Kim Joo-Sung	34	6’9	C
Lee Seung-Jun	35	6’9	F/C
Cho Sung-Min	30	6’3	G/F
Kim Sun-Hyung	25	6’2	G
Yang Dong-Geun	32	5’11	G
Kim Jong-Kyu	22	6’10	C
Lee Jong-Hyun	19	6’9	C/F
Yoon Ho-Young	29	6’6	F
Kim Min-Goo	22	6’3	G
Kim Tae-Sool	29	5’11	G
Moon Seong-Gon	20	6’4	F
Choi Jun-Yong	19	6’7	F

Key Players:

1) Kim Sun-Hyung– Sun-Hyung is a bit of a strange talent in South Korea. Like the prototypical Korean guard, he is cat-quick, but unlike most of them, he is not particularly known for his outside shot. Yes, he will shoot the trey when open and he is pretty streaky, but what Sun-Hyung is really known for is his ability to slash through defenses and penetrate to the basket. The closest peg among our local players would probably have to be Jayson Castro. Yes, that’s right. Korea has its own version of our Jayson Castro.

2) Yang Dong-Geun – If Gilas has someone like Jimmy Alapag, then Korea has Yang. The 32-year old floor general has been one of the Taeguk Warriors’ top playmakers since 2001, and he can still run with the best of ‘em. In the 2011 tournament, Yang was saddled in some games by a leg injury, but now he’s healthier and probably hungrier, too. Look for him to be the primary playmaker while Kim Tae-Sool backs him up.

3) Kim Joo-Sung– At 34, Joo-Sung is definitely one of the oldest guys in the competition, but don’t let that fool you. This guy can still teach a lot of the younger set more than a thing or two about low post play, and that’s one of the reasons coach Yoo Jae-Hak actually chose him, so he can mentor the young frontliners in the next part of this post (see below, yes, just right below).

Points of Interest:

1) The Future Is Now – Unlike a good number of the contenders in this tournament, the Koreans have more than a handful of young ‘uns on their roster. Sure, Joo-Sung, Lee Seung-Jun, Cho Sung-Min, and Yang Dong-Geun are all in their 30s, but they also have six (6) guys who are 25 or younger, including two 19-year olds. Five (5) of those young players will probably play off the bench, but they should still see significant burn time, especially guys like 6’10 Kim Jong-Kyu and 6’3 Kim Min-Goo. Both were members of Korea’s Youth Team, while Jong-Kyu actually played for the seniors in the 2011 Wuhan edition. When asked why he chose so many youngsters over other more seasoned players, coach Yoo simply said that the future is now.

Kim Jong-Kyu is destined to inherit the
starting center position.
(image from Jumpball.co.kr)

Tournament Outlook:

The Koreans have always been, and will always be, contenders. They pulled the rug from under Gilas in the 2011 battle for the bronze, and they have finished in the tournament’s top 4 in every edition except 2009, where they ended up 7^th. Even with the prospect of facing both China and Iran in the first round, the Koreans should still do extremely well. I expect them to be among the top 3 teams in Group F and win in the quarterfinals no matter whom they face, unless it’s Gilas, of course. Suffice to say that anything less than a top 4 finish would be extremely surprising.

#parasabayan