"Four college students crushed the average 2-meter Middle Eastern giants" — Republic of Korea's 3x3 basketball wins historic first 'miracle gold' [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] The Republic of Korea's fearsome 'young blood' completely dominated Nagoya's night. The men's 3x3 basketball national team, made up of four fresh-faced college students, rose to the top of Asia by mercilessly tearing apart the Middle Eastern giants, whose players averaged more than 2 meters in height. After ending a 12-year wait for a title in traditional 5-on-5 basketball, the Republic of Korea's basketball program also slammed home a gold medal in 3x3, completing a historic 'double gold' at these Asian Games.
The Republic of Korea men's 3x3 national basketball team, coached by Bae Gil-tae, easily defeated Qatar 19-10 in the men's 3x3 basketball final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on the 25th. The match was held on a temporary court at the plaza outside Kinjo-futo Station in Nagoya, Japan. The victory delivered the first gold medal in the sport's history.




This gold medal also marked a major milestone in the history of Republic of Korea sports. It was the 13th medal won by the Republic of Korea delegation at the Nagoya Games and the symbolic 800th gold medal in the country's Summer Asian Games history. It was also a cathartic first title that wiped away the disappointment of settling for silver at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and finishing fourth at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
The final was a battle between David and Goliath. Qatar boasted overwhelming physicality, with an average height of 2 meters. Yet the height disadvantage posed no obstacle to the united 'college-student Avengers': Lee Ju-young and Seungwoo Kim, both of Yonsei University; Lee Dong-geun of Korea University (KU); and Koo Min-gyo of Sungkyunkwan University.
The turning point came with 1 minute and 29 seconds remaining, when the Republic of Korea led 11-6. As Qatar pushed forward aggressively in search of a comeback, Lee Dong-geun and Lee Ju-young drilled back-to-back outside shots—worth two points each—to extend the lead to 15-7 in an instant. The daggers effectively crushed Qatar's hopes of a comeback. Lee Ju-young then hit a clean outside shot with 24.7 seconds left, followed by Lee Dong-geun's lightning drive with 4.6 seconds remaining, completing a perfect 19-10 finale.




Lee Ju-young was unquestionably the offensive leader. He exploded for a game-high 9 points, including three outside shots, and toyed with Qatar's defense. Lee Dong-geun also showed tremendous strength against Qatar's 2-meter giants, pulling down a game-high 6 rebounds and adding 3 points. Seungwoo Kim, with 5 points and 4 rebounds, and Koo Min-gyo, with 2 points and 3 rebounds, also protected the paint with valuable contributions and played a decisive role in the gold-medal victory.
Earlier, the men's 5-on-5 national team, led by coach Nikolaos Mazouls, had won its first gold medal in 12 years. The 3x3 national team has now captured the first gold medal in its history as well. The Republic of Korea's basketball program, which had seemed to be fading to the margins, fired a spectacular signal of revival from the heart of Nagoya.

[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter