History was made in the 2014 AsianGames in Incheon, South Korea as the hosts pulled the rug from tournament
favorite Iran to win its fourth Asiad gold medal. It was a fitting send-off for
one of Korea’s most iconic players, too, as they bid farewell to the
international career of Kim Joo-Sung, who was also around when Korea last won a
gold in the 2002 Busan Asian Games. In the bronze medal match, Kenji Hasegawa’s
crew held on to beat Kazakhstan and secure Team Hayabusa’s first Asiad medal
since 1994.
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| 23-year old Kim Jong-Kyu represents the bright future of basketball in Korea. |
Game recaps:
JAPAN over KAZAKHSTAN, 76-72
Kenji Hasegawa drew another superb
game from prized sniper Kosuke Kanamaru, who drilled 5 triples on his way to a
team-high 21 points as Japan upended Kazakhstan to claim its first Asian Games
medal in 20 years. Kanamaru led five Nippon cagers in double-figures. Kosuke
Takeuchi and twin brother Joji more than held their own in the paint, finishing
with a combined 27 points and 17 rebounds, while backcourt partners Makoto
Hiejima and Naoto Tsuji dropped 15 and 13 markers respectively. This result was
a pleasant surprise for Hasegawa, who has never coached beyond the college
level in Japan, and whose team struggled prior to the Asian Games, finishing
just sixth in the 2014 Jones Cup. On the other end, Kazakh mainstays Dimitriy
Gavrilov and Anton Ponomarev impressed with a combined 36 points and 24 boards,
while star forward Anatoliy Kolesnikov contributed 15 markers and 9 caroms. Vitaly
Strebkov’s wards, however, couldn’t hit the mark from downtown, making only 6
of their 26 three-point attempts.
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| Japan celebrates its first podium finish since the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo. (image from the JBA) |
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| Joji Takeuchi tangles with Anton Ponomarev in the paint. |
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| Kosuke Kanamaru goes up against Pavel Ilin. (image from the JBA) |
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| Kosuke Takeuchi was a tower of strength for Japan. (image from the JBA) |
SOUTH KOREA over IRAN, 79-77
Iran looked to be headed to its
first-ever Asian Games gold before the home squad uncorked a 9-2 endgame run
that all but clinched the title. Samad Nikkhah Bahrami was sensational in this
one, scattering 30 points on 50% FG shooting, but even that herculean
performance wasn’t enough as Team Melli couldn’t close out the resilient
Koreans. Big man Hamed Haddadi recorded 14 points and 6 rebounds, but he also
turned the ball over six times, while Mahdi Kamrani couldn’t really get his
shot going, finishing with only 10 points. Korea, meanwhile, continued to rely
on its perimeter shooting to overhaul the late deficit. Moon Tae-Jong came to
play anew, rattling off 19 points on the strength of 3 triples, while young slotman
Kim Jong-Kyu stepped up, shooting 7/12 from the floor to register an all around
line of 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Iconic shooter
Cho Sung-Min bucked a broken finger to make 3 treys and score 16 markers in 35
minutes of action. It has been a great year for Korean head coach Yoo Jae-Hak,
who led his team to the 2014 KBL title and now to the top of the podium in
front of hometown fans.
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| Cho Sung-Min caught fire early as Korea got the jump on Iran. |
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| Hamed Haddadi is dejected as the Asiad gold continues to elude Team Melli. |
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| Seemingly timeless veteran Kim Joo-Sung retires after his second Asiad gold. |
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| Veterans Yang Dong-Geun (L) and Kim Joo-Sung (R) carry the Korean flag after they defeated fancied Iran in the gold medal game. |
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