▲ Men’s 3×3 Basketball National Team

The South Korean men’s 3×3 basketball national team, led by head coach Bae Gil-tae, has advanced directly to the quarterfinals after finishing the group stage with a perfect 3-0 record at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

South Korea defeated Singapore 19-14 in their final Group D match of the tournament held today (September 23) at the special court near Kinjofuto Station in Nagoya, Japan.

Having previously secured consecutive victories against Thailand (21-11 win) and Japan (21-12 win), South Korea triumphed over Singapore to claim their third straight win in the group stage, securing the ticket to the quarterfinals reserved for group leaders.

South Korea will face the winner of the match between Indonesia and China, who will advance through the play-in tournament, in the quarterfinals.

A total of 16 teams are competing in the men’s 3×3 basketball event at this tournament, which features players aged 23 and under (U-23).

The format dictates that each group winner advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the second and third-place teams play in a play-in tournament for the remaining quarterfinal tickets.

Since 3×3 basketball was adopted as an official event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, South Korea is aiming for its first-ever gold medal at this tournament.

In particular, Lee Ju-young, Kim Seung-woo (both from Yonsei University), Lee Dong-geun (Korea University), and Gu Min-gyo (Sungkyunkwan University), who combined to finish as runners-up at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in April of this year, are maintaining their teamwork, making them strong medal contenders.

They finished first overall at the FIBA 3×3 Youth Nations League Central and East Asia regional tournament last month to secure a spot in the U-23 World Cup, and after competing in the U-23 World Cup held in China from September 15 to 19 to solidly build their teamwork, they arrived in Nagoya.

In the match against Singapore, Lee Dong-geun spearheaded the attack with a team-high 7 points along with 3 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Lee Ju-young performed strongly with 5 points and 4 rebounds.

(Photo courtesy of the Korea Basketball Association, Yonhap News)

※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.