KOR - Coach savours Korean breakthrough

NOVI SAD (FIBA U19 World Championship) -  After wins over Puerto Rico (98-94) and Turkey (104-96), Korea's basketballers are making a name for themselves in the FIBA U19 World Championship.

The wins ensured the Asian side exited with their heads held high with an unexpectedly impressive performance.

Korea coach Kim Seung Ki spoke exclusively to FIBA.com about what his team's performances mean for the country.

FIBA:  Did you send out a message with this win?
Kim Seung Ki: "In Korea everybody thought we could not win games here. We don't have the power of other teams and so on.
"In this tournament we proved to them we can win, and we did that by showing the true colours of Korean basketball.
"We showed we can match European teams too. It's a big leap for our players. We almost never win a game and here we have already won two."

FIBA:  How did it feel after the win?
Kim Seung Ki: "We were happy but still kept in mind this isn't out last game and we have to be ready for that game. We are thinking about that, because we think we can beat another team."

FIBA:  And for you as a head coach, how did it feel to go down in history?
Kim Seung Ki: "I just want to thank my players for their hard work and for following my instructions. I was really excited to win this game."

FIBA:  The Korean league made big development in the last years. How has it affected Korean basketball?
Kim Seung Ki: "The KBL has good US players, but that's good for the fans. Most teams sign big men in the center and power forward positions, and that hurts our Korean big men. They go to shoot from outside, instead of playing inside. We already have very good shooters and we need our big guys to know how to play inside too."

FIBA:  What are the strong points of Korean basketball that you try to use in your game?
Kim Seung Ki: "We don't have many big guys, so we try to play with speed. We like to get our points in the fast breaks. My players sometimes go on the fast break and stop to shoot from long or mid range to avoid blocks. We also have good shooters that can hit three-pointers in good percentages."

FIBA:  What kind of responses do you hear from back home after such win?
Kim Seung Ki: "Korea is a country where football is the number one sport. Everybody focuses on that and basketball is put on the back burner. Sometimes we don't even qualify for the World Championship or Olympics through the Asian games so we don't get a lot of exposure. Now everybody is really happy about it. I believe this win will help us get more fans for Korean basketball."

By Yarone Arbel
FIBA