JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Yu Kisang submitted his best showing in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 to date as Korea shot the lights out to beat Lebanon, 97-86, to reach the Final Phase, Sunday night at the King Abdullah Sports City.
In just his first stint in the continental conclave, the 24-year-old guard erupted for 28 points behind an excellent 8-of-12 clip from beyond the arc as he played a crucial role in their blazing start to set up the lopsided show.
He contributed two triples in the East Asian side's eight made threes in just the first quarter alone toward a 26-12 lead, before the rest of the crew broke away for good in the ensuing frame to cruise to the victory.
By halftime, the Koreans already had 13 treys and eventually finished with 22, which is now the most by a team in a game in this year's tournament, eclipsing the 20 made by Japan in their rout of Guam earlier in the day.
More than the statistical feat, Team Korea have clinched the no. 2 spot in Group A and are bound to face Group B's no. 3 team in Guam in the Qualification to Quarter-Finals, the full schedule of which to be announced soon.
"We survived the group of death," exhaled head coach Ahn Joonho. "We've fought every game, and we're going to fight even more throughout the tournament, and we're going to go back home as legends."
Star winger Lee Hyunjung came up big once again with 28 points as well after going 7-of-13 from downtown, alongside 6 rebounds and 5 assists plus a steal and a block to finish with an efficiency of 34.
Yang Junseok flirted with a double-double after tallying 10 points and 8 assists, with the troika of Lee Seounghyun, Ha Yungi, and Jeong Seongwoo providing significantly as they chipped in at least 6 points.
And that collective effort made the absences of key forward Yeo Junseok and Lee Junghyun because of injuries hardly felt, as they all took care of business and ensured that the team advances to the Final Phase.
It's worth noting, too, that this is Korea's third straight win against the Cedars in FIBA play. Their first two wins came during the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers.
Now they have the advantage in their head-to-head, 7-6, following the win.
"We were down two players tonight because of injuries, but the rest of the 10 players stepped up and went by our slogan of 'One Team Korea.' And they were able to fill all the shoes of the players missing," Ahn said.
Omar Jamaleddine, on the other hand, finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Lebanese, who fell to their second loss in a row and will settle for a no 3 finish in Group A with a 1-2 record.
Ali Haidar made 14 points and 7 rebounds. Sergio El Darwich had 13 points while Ali Mansour and Amir Saoud added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Cedars, who will face Japan in the Final Phase's first round.
FIBA