Coach Nicolas Majulis made a bold choice.
The national basketball team will play Taiwan and Japan in window 2 of the 2026 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asia region final qualifiers, held in Taipei, Taiwan, and Okinawa, Japan, starting on the 26th. It has drawn great interest as the debut game for Nicolas Majulis, the basketball association's first foreign coach.
The Korea Basketball Association announced the final 12-man roster for the men's national basketball team at Olympic Hall on the afternoon of the 4th. The team, which assembled on the 20th, will undergo a short training camp at the Jincheon National Training Center and then depart for Taiwan on the 24th for the decisive matches. The team will move directly from Taiwan to Japan to play the Korea-Japan match three days earlier and then return home.
Among the existing national team players, a large number suffered injuries, including Moon Jeong-hyun, Kang Sang-jae, Byun Jun-hyung, and Ahn Young-jun. It was a major question whether Coach Majulis would select many young prospects.
The 12 national team members selected were ace Lee Hyun-jung (Nagasaki) and Lee Jung-hyun (Sono), centered around Yang Jun-seok (LG), Moon Yoo-hyun (Jung Kwan Jang), Yoo Ki-sang (LG), Shin Seung-min (Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS)), Song Gyo-chang (KCC), Eddie Danielle (SK), Lee Won-seok (Samsung), Lee Seung-hyun (Hyundai Mobis), Kim Bo-bae (DB), and Kang Ji-hoon (Sono).
In particular, it is notable that rookies Moon Yoo-hyun, Eddie Danielle, and Kang Ji-hoon were selected for the first time. Meanwhile, brothers Heo Woong and Heo Hoon, who showed strong performances in the professional league, were ultimately excluded from the national team.
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