Nagoya, Japan, September 13, 2026: Korea finished strongly to tame rival Japan 100-83 in their top-of-the-table Group A men’s basketball match at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya on Sunday, September 13.
Korea edged the first quarter 19-17 but Japan hit back in the second quarter 25-21 to lead by two points, 42-40, at halftime.
The third quarter began to swing Korea’s way, and the visitors pulled away in the last segment to win comfortably by 17 points.
Guard Lee Jung-hyun led Korea with 25 points, Jang Jae-seok scored 18 and Lee Hyun-jung 16. Another key player for Korea was Moon Yu-hyeon, whose tenacious marking of the dangerous Kotetsu Kurokawa proved to be a turning point.
Kurokawa, who went 4-of-8 from downtown, still top-scored for Japan with 21 points, and Alex Kirk added 19.
Both teams had already booked their places in the quarterfinals with two consecutive wins – against Saudi Arabia and Indonesia - and were fighting for the top seed out of Group A.
There are three groups of four, and the top two teams from each group, plus the two best third-place teams, will progress to the quarterfinals.
All quarterfinal matches will be played on Wednesday at the same venue, with the semifinals set for Friday. The bronze medal match and final will be next Sunday, the day after the opening ceremony.
Korea has won the Asian Games men’s basketball gold medal on four occasions, the most recent on home court at Incheon 2014, while Japan has never won this title.
In the earlier Group A game Sunday, Saudi Arabia defeated Indonesia 100-89.
In Group B games Sunday, the Islamic Republic of Iran beat Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games silver medallists Jordan 81-68 and the impressive Chinese Taipei defeated Qatar 91-69.