Women's basketball team wins by 5 points in overtime over Latvia

A classic in ‘Thirteen in Height’… Two wins in the evaluation match between national teams for the first time in Korea

Park Hye-jin, the team’s most 22 points explosion… Kang Yi-seul 15 points, Park Ji-hyun 9 rebounds, etc.

Yebin Yoon steals the ball

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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Eui-jin = The Korean women’s basketball team, which played its first national evaluation match in Korea, won the second game against Latvia after a close overtime.

Korea, led by coach Jeong Seon-min, defeated Latvia 71-66 in the women’s basketball national team evaluation game invited by KB Kookmin Bank held at Cheongju Gymnasium in Chungcheongbuk-do on the 20th.

Korea, ranked 13th in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) world ranking, invited Latvia, ranked 24th, to their home room in preparation for the FIBA Women’s World Cup to be held in Sydney, Australia in September, and played two evaluation matches on the 19th and 20th.

In the first match held at the same location on the 19th, Korea also won by one point by 56-55.

In the World Cup, with the United States (1st), Belgium (5th), China (7th), Puerto Rico (17th) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (26th) in Group A, for Korea, Latvia with many tall players is a good ‘sparring’. ‘I was expecting it to be a match.

In particular, for the national team that Park Ji-soo (KB), who is responsible for the underside of the goal, could not join due to symptoms of panic disorder, this match was an opportunity to experience the ‘height inferiority’ in advance.

Although Latvia did not qualify for the World Cup finals, there are several players in the 190cm range, so their height is considered top-notch.

In fact, on the 11th and 12th on the 11th and 12th, Latvia defeated Japan, the 8th-placed powerhouse in the FIBA ranking, by more than 20 points in both evaluation matches, but overwhelmed with rebounds 44-34 and 50-35.

The national team, which had a hard time conceding 13 more rebounds in the first game, tried to reinforce the height by sending out Jinan (BNK) and Yang In-young (Hanawon Q) as the starters on this day.

**Kang Dew-seul trying 3 points**

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Yang In-young led the fight for equal air dominance in the first quarter by fighting tall players such as blocking the opponent’s shot twice under the goal.

However, they could not score even a single three-pointer even after holding the goal, so they were 14-15, one point behind, in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the national team focused on defense under the goal, but rather got three points from guards such as Mara Mote and Japanese-made Jacobsone.

The national team also played a seesaw game throughout the quarter, responding with the outskirts of Hyejin Park (Woori Bank) and Isul Kang (KB).

One minute before the end of the quarter, Isul Kang ran away with another three points in front of the defense, but just before the end, Alexa Gulbe, 190cm tall, took a shot from under the goal, and Moteegae allowed a layup in the first half, 34-34. finished

Latvia, who had scored 6 points in a row at the start of the second half, Jacobsone and Gulbe scored 3 points in a row, leading to a 46-35 score difference in the 7th minute of the 3rd quarter.

Then, the national team caught up with Park Hye-jin’s three points, and Kang Yi-seul and Jin-an’s one-on-one breakout goals, followed by 42-46.

At the end of the quarter, Ji-hyeon Park (Woori Bank) gave strength. Ji-hyeon Park, who helped Jinan score an easy goal with a sharp breakthrough, succeeded in a quick layup one minute before the end of the quarter, leading the 48-51 chase.

**Yang In-young and Jin-an throw themselves at the ball**

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Afterwards, the national team was led 51-58 in the 6th minute of the 4th quarter, conceding a goal to Gulbe and another 190cm forward Carlin Pilapere.

After that, the concentration of the national team players shined in the match. Kang Yi-seul, who tried to break through, succeeded in scoring from a difficult stance, and Park Ji-hyeon also made two free throws, making the score 60-60 one minute before the end of the game.

Then, when Ji-hyeon Park, who entered through the defensive gap, made a difficult shot, Hye-jin Park scored a putback and succeeded in turning it around 62-60 34 seconds before the end.

However, while Park Ji-hyun missed two of the last four free throws, Jacobsone scored three just before the end to make the score 64-64, and the game went into overtime.

In the extension, Hye-Jin Park came forward as the solver.

Park Hye-jin, who succeeded in daring three points from two steps behind the three-point line, calmly succeeded in all free throws, making the game 71-66.

On this day, the national team also lost 32-44 in rebounding, but Park Hye-jin, who exploded the team’s highest score of 22 points, won the close match.

Kang Yi-seul supported with 15 points and 6 rebounds, including 3 points, and Park Ji-hyeon also contributed 9 rebounds.

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