SEOUL (Korea) - Ra Guna has been itching to get back on the court and play for Korea in the FIBA Asia Cup. The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 top scorer and rebounder talked about that and more on Instagram with @FIBAAsiaCup.

Check out the entire talk with Ra on @FIBAAsiaCup IGTV.

Ra has spent nearly a decade playing professionally in Korea and has been representing the national team since 2018. He recalled his first moments playing for the flag and the pride he has in being able to do so.

"The first game, just hearing them call my name in the starting five and the waiting fans erupted," he said of his fond memories playing for Korea. "Also representing the national team and getting the first World Cup win against Cote D'Ivoire. It's been a while since we got a win so I was just happy to help my team get a win. I'm just hoping that we can build on that and just win some more in the future."

"I think it means more to me because I'm the first foreigner to be naturalized in Korea," said Ra, who also explained the meaning behind his Korean name in the chat."Unlike other Asian countries like the Philippines and Japan who are used to having foreign players. For me to be the first in this country is a great accomplishment for me. I'm very proud and I take my role seriously on this team and try to give it everything I got."

Playing in Korea for such a long time has allowed Ra to gain quite a fanbase. These followers are so faithful and loyal that they will go the extra mile to shower him with appreciation which has caught the burly big man by surprise at times.

"I say my best moment with the fans was in my third season," Ra recalled, saying that he missed out winning the MVP of the All-Star game."So the fans actually went and got me a trophy - made me a trophy - and they did like a little ceremony for me at the airport. I was totally shocked but that was really heartwarming for me. I just appreciate the Ulsan Mobis fans for that and that's a memory I’ll never forget."

Throughout his entire life playing basketball, Ra has forged many relationships with many players, some of which he shared with the fans during the talk.

"Those are my guys," Ra said of national team teammates Choi Jun-Yong and "Dash" Lee Dae-Sung.

"When the times are tough, I go to those guys. When the times are good, I go to those guys. I know they always got my back and that they are the most genuine people I've met since I've been in Korea."

"As far as the funniest, Choi takes the cake! When it comes to you just needing a quick laugh, you have got to go to Choi. Both of those guys are different."

(Choi Jun-Yong, FIBA Asia Cup 2017)

"Korean culture is really strict and everybody is pretty much the same, really respectful. Choi, he's kind of different. He's kind of like an American. He just loves hip-hop, he loves to disrespect people, loves to curse. It’s just funny. You can't really take him seriously, but I love that dude though. Him and 'Dash', those are my guys."

Ra also keeps in contact with teammates from his collegiate days at the University of Missouri, some of whom he could be facing at the FIBA Asia Cup in the future like Guam's Earnest Ross.

"We don't talk about playing against each other though," Ra explained. "We just congratulate each other. He keeps up with my games, I keep up with his. He's got a beautiful family, he tells me I have a beautiful family. We just talk about regular life, regular family stuff, basketball stuff, but we never really got into 'what if we actually play each other'."

"But I'm pretty sure it would be an exciting game if we did."

(Earnest Ross, FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers Eastern Region)

Another player Ra is connected with is Jordan Clarkson who played for the Philippines at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta. They not only faced each other on the court but plenty of other times off the court as well.

"I mean we didn't play together back then, but when he came on his visit [to Missouri], I was the host," explained Ra of their connection. "So I like to think I was one of the reasons that he decided to choose Mizzou of all the other choices that he had."

"He's a really cool dude. We played him in the Asian Games and I ran into him a few times at the cafeteria and chopped it up a little bit. Talked a little bit."

"He was like 'I'm following my career' and I was like 'of course, I'm following your career NBA star'."

Ra also talked in length about his affection for the Philippines, having played in the country for a while. Filipino fans still adore the bruising center, even though he plays for their fierce rivals.

"I love the Philippines," He said. "It is actually fun to basketball than when I play here in Korea. In Korea, it's really, really, really structured and you have to play a certain way. In the Philippines, it's free. They just give you the ball and let you do what you do."

"I really enjoyed it and the fans out there are the best I've ever seen, especially outside the US. It's the best I've ever seen. I feel like I have probably had more fans in the Philippines than I have here. I played there only probably a total of seven months and I played in Korea for like this is my ninth year. They love me and I love them, too. If I wasn't here, I'd be playing in the Philippines right now."

He most likely will get to play in front of the Filipino fans once again soon, in the upcoming windows of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers. Korea have remaining fixtures to visit and host the Philippines and Ra can't wait to get back into action.

As he was going through the naturalization process back in 2017, Ra was closely following Korea as they went all the way to a bronze medal in Lebanon. He would watch the games, analyzing how the team might have also played if he was on the team, or how they might have won certain games if he was there to match up against certain players.

One matchup in particular that he mentioned was against New Zealand, who Korea have built a small rivalry against in recent years. They've played each other twice at the FIBA Asia Cup and twice more at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers, resulting in close clashes each time.

"I think it's great because I think that New Zealand is a powerhouse, too," Ra said. "For us to be considered in the same boat with those guys, to have a rivalry with those guys, I think that's something good that you could say about Korea basketball."

"New Zealand is a very tough team, very big, and well-coached. "I just enjoy playing against them. I really enjoy playing against any team that is ranked higher than us. That's just the type of player I am."

Ra emphasized once again later in the talk that he isn't looking forward to playing against any team or player in particular. As long as they are ranked higher than Korea, who are ranked 30^th in the world according to the FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike, he wants that action.

Because of all of this experience playing in the region for nearly ten years, Ra was asked to compile an All-Time Asia Cup Starting Five. He eventually ended up with eight players to form the perfect squad from his perspective.

"The center would be Yao Ming, of course. The four will be me. The small [forward] will be Dar Tucker. Shooting guard, it will be Earnest Ross. And the point, that would be Yang Donggeun."

He also added youngsters in his two teammates Choi Jun-Yong and Lee Dae-Sung into the mix, as well as Philippines Thirdy Ravena, who he believes "is the future".

Ra covered some other topics including how he viewed the future of Korea basketball and why he changed his number to 20 in Korea during the chat with @FIBAAsiaCup. Make sure to check out the full talk on @FIBAAsiaCup IGTV.

FIBA