South Korean basketball almost lost to Thailand, ranked 89th in the world. However, it felt as if they had beaten the United States national team.

The men's national basketball team, led by head coach Ahn Jun-ho, secured a narrow victory of 91-90 against the home team Thailand in the 'FIBA Jedda Asia Cup 2025 Group A Match 5' held on the 20th (Korea time) at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok. South Korea confirmed its advancement to the Asia Cup finals.

It's just an excuse that South Korea has no naturalized players.

It was a game that could be called the worst performance in the history of Korean basketball. South Korea started uneasily, leading slightly 24-23 from the first quarter. The 203 cm tall player Martin Brunik, of German-Thai descent, was not an easy opponent. Born in Germany, he played in the German Bundesliga after attending the University of Washington in the U.S.

If Brunik properly caught the ball in the paint, it was 2 points. Lee Won-seok could not defend him one-on-one. Brunik roared after completing a dunk shot in Lee Won-seok's face. He scored 13 points, including three dunks, in the second quarter alone.

The problem is that head coach Ahn Jun-ho's quick response was nowhere to be seen. No matter how well Brunik played, he was not on the level of foreign players playing in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He was not absolutely unguardable. With defensive strategies such as preventing the ball from being fed into the paint, it could have been covered effectively. However, when Lee Won-seok was beaten, there were no supportive defensive measures.

Eventually, Hah Yun-ki came in and managed to control Brunik somewhat one-on-one, taking the lead. South Korea led 55-43 at halftime. South Korea was trailing in total rebounds 43-46.

With the addition of naturalized player Moses Morgan, Thailand's strength improved significantly. However, that did not intimidate the South Korean players. After Ra Gun-ah's retirement, it is not justifiable to blame the external environment for having no naturalized players. South Korea had many careless turnovers when they were in a situation where they could easily pull away. Players need to reflect on whether they underestimated Thailand and did not approach the game seriously.

Thailand may be a basketball backwater, but it was not the former power it used to be.

Thailand, ranked 89th in the FIBA rankings, is a basketball backwater, ranked 18th in Asia. In the past, they were in Division B and had no chance to compete against Korea in Division A. However, they have recently moved up to Division A and almost captured South Korea.

Thailand is known as a soccer nation. Even in sports shops in Bangkok, there are many soccer shoes and running shoes, but it is nearly impossible to find basketball shoes. Although the professional basketball league TBL (Thailand Basketball League) was established in 2012, the league's level and scale cannot be compared to the KBL. Thailand is indeed a country that is serious about soccer.

Thai fans did not have high expectations of beating South Korea in basketball. There were Thai female fans in the local area cheering for the Korean players. However, as South Korea repeatedly turned the ball over toward the end, Thailand made a fierce comeback, exciting the home fans. They instilled the thought that 'we can also beat Korea!' The Korean national team has made a significant contribution to the development of basketball in Thailand.

Korean players' careless attitude and poor scouting and response.

South Korea led 81-68 until 6 minutes and 44 seconds remaining, and victory seemed optimistic. However, from that point on, due to their careless attitude, turnovers occurred. Thailand launched a storm of three-point shots and succeeded in a comeback to lead 81-82 with 3 minutes and 44 seconds left.

Until the very end, South Korea could not regain its composure. Their free throw success rate was only 41.7%. To make matters worse, with 7 seconds left, trailing 91-90, Park Ji-hoon committed a critical foul. The opponent was in a situation where they had no timeout left, and it was a team foul, yet he committed an unnecessary foul.

If Thailand made both free throws, South Korea's defeat would have been certain. Miraculously, Pongsakon Jaimsathawad missed both free throw attempts. Lee Woo-seok grabbed the rebound but missed both free throws. In a comedic ending, South Korea barely won by one point.

The worst response came from head coach Ahn Jun-ho, who insisted on playing Park Ji-hoon, who was selected for the national team for the first time, during the critical moments, creating this situation. In his first international match, Park Ji-hoon was passive and not performing well throughout the game. Coach Ahn had ample time to respond.

There are also doubts about whether the opponent was properly analyzed. Thailand's Nattakan Muangbun scored 22 points with 6 of 8 three-point shots. Although he is 183 cm tall, he is a starting guard for High Tech, which has won the championship four times. He displayed exceptional three-point shooting from the first half. He was a player who should never have been left open in critical moments.

In the fourth quarter alone, Muangbun made 4 three-pointers and led Thailand’s fierce comeback. Usually, when a player makes one or two consecutive three-pointers, even if the coach is not familiar with the player, they take notice. However, head coach Ahn Jun-ho failed to show any response. Muangbun was in such a desperate state that he continued to shoot three-pointers immediately after being guarded. Ultimately, poor scouting of the opponent allowed this player to flourish.

Did South Korea lose to Thailand and still smile… have the players lost even the bare minimum of pride?

The most disappointing attitude came after the game. Some players were seen smiling at each other, satisfied with the victory. When faced with an opponent believed to be inferior, it is natural to feel frustrated and lose pride upon struggling. However, the South Korean players acted as if they had defeated the U.S. or Germany.

As representatives wearing the Taegeuk mark, where has their minimum pride gone? Since when have we been a team happy about beating Thailand? At least the previous representatives who stood at the top of Asia did not behave like this.

Seeing this, captain Lee Seung-hyun told his juniors, 'Let’s get serious! It's not the time to be smiling just because we won, right?' At least Lee Seung-hyun's remark can be considered one from the last generation that seriously aimed for the top of Asia.

After the game, head coach Ahn Jun-ho said, 'If we do not deeply reflect and make improvements, it will be difficult for Korean men's basketball to be competitive in international tournaments. I believe the shortcomings in today’s game are entirely my responsibility as the coach, and I reflect on that,' bowing his head.

Hah Yun-ki stated, 'I am very sorry for showing such a poor performance. I will do my best to show better performance in the next match against Indonesia.'

South Korea will play an away game against Indonesia on the 23rd. Last year, South Korea struggled but managed to beat Indonesia 86-78 in Goyang. Regardless of the outcome, I hope the South Korean players will approach the game with a serious attitude different from that against Thailand.

[OSEN=Seo Jeong-hwan Reporter]