ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - A stupendous start was all that Korea needed on their way to clobbering Malaysia, 123-70, for a winning FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 debut, Sunday evening at the MBank Arena.
The one-time gold medalists erupted for 41 big points in just the first quarter - 25 more than their foes' output - and they'd go on to ride that wave of momentum toward opening their campaign on a high note.
Park Beomyoun top-scored for the victors with 25 points, nine of which he made to lead their 26-6 start into the match that set the tone for the rout. He shot 8-of-12 from the floor and also had 6 rebounds.
Lee Seunghyeon supplied 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Shin Yubeom made 17 points and also 6 rebounds, with Kim Junyoung coming through with 12 points, 5 assists, and 6 of the team's 15 steals.
Lee Seungmin chalked up an 11-5-4 stat line and added a pair of steals, while Kang Taeyeong chipped in 10 points as a total of five players finished in double figures for the squad of Coach Ryu Youngjoon.
The Koreans made 50.6-percent of their shots from the floor in the win that saw all but one score at least 3 points, a well-spread attack big thanks to their unselfishness as the team finished with 29 assists.
Malaysia, on the other hand, were led by the 22 points of Lucas Tai Khye Pheng in the loss. Mikel Rohit Kingsley Daniel was his lone backup with 16 points.
Joining Korea on top of Group C are China, who dominated the debuting Mongolia, 103-45.
Zhang Yizhaojie top-scored for the three-time champions with 27 points, netting an efficiency of 35 as he also collected 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals in an all-around, turnover-less performance.
Zhang Ziyi had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Zhang Chunzhi made 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Tu Hanzhi and Lyu Feiyan added 13 and 10 points, respectively as the quartet bannered the squad's balanced scoring.
It was these same four that powered the early breakaway when the game was tied at 6-all, joining hands for a 17-2 barrage - called by a Tu layup - for a 23-8 lead with less than two minutes left in the first chapter.
They ended the first holding 27-13 advantage but refused to relax whatsoever, as the crew went on a blazing 32-8 scoring tear in the following quarter to head into the halftime intermission with a 59-21 lead.
Nine of Coach Wang Jianjun's players got on the scoreboard, with much of the credit going to their 26 assists as a collective. But their defense did wonders, too, as evidenced by the 28 steals they racked up.
That effort as a unit, though, can't be said for Mongolia, with Batnyam Chinzorig the only one to hit double-digits in scoring with 15 to lead the hosts. No one from their side was able to score more than 5 points.
China will look to make it back-to-back wins as it would be their turn to face the Malaysians (0-1) on Monday, September 1, at the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Complex. Game time is set at 16:30 local time.
Korea would also want to do that, too, when they take on Mongolia at 19:00 local time in the same venue.
FIBA