On Liberation Day, the biggest margin of defeat ever came out in the Korea-Japan match.

The South Korean men's basketball team, led by head coach Nicholas Marjules, was smashed with a 20-point loss of 68-88 in the first round of the Korea-Japan warm-up match against Japan at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on the 15th (Korea time).

South Korea is used to defeat under Marjules. And it has been on a downward trend as it lost for the fourth time in five games.

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Of course, Lee Hyun-joong, Choi Joon-yong, Song Kyo-chang, and Ahn Young-joon were excluded from the entry in South Korea, and Lee Jung-hyun, who is in poor physical condition, also did not participate. Japan was joined by Hachimura and Kawamura, but they also had no Watanabe.

According to the Korea Basketball Association, South Korea was defeated by the biggest margin in the Korea-Japan match ever. The previous largest margin defeat was 64 years ago at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games by 17 points.

South Korea's Lee Woo-seok (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Eddie Daniel (7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), Kang Sung-wook (12 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists), Yoo Ki-sang (11 points, 2 assists), and Byun Joon-hyung (8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) worked hard. However, the unknown basketball of coach Marjules resulted in a crushing defeat in the match between Korea and Japan. No proper tactics or strategies could be identified. His basketball was still a question mark in his fifth game since taking over as the national team coach.

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Japan's main players, including Hachimura (22 points, 2 assists) and Kawamura (12 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists), as well as Tominaga (10 points, 4 rebounds) and Hawkinson (18 points, 14 rebounds), smashed South Korea.

The start of the first quarter was not good. Completely failed to control Hachimura, dragged 0-11. Since then, the scores of Hawkinson and Tominaga have fallen by 4-16, 12 points. The atmosphere changed after Daniel was added. As South Korea's defense revived, it succeeded in chasing and narrowed the gap. He finished the first quarter at 15-18, cutting through the rim to the third point of the game.

The second quarter started with Lee Seung-hyun's jumper. South Korea, which failed to control Hachimura again, was pushed back 19-30 again by Hawkinson's fastball and Baba's fastball after a steal. Kawamura's back-to-back three-pointers and Tominaga's one-man show at the end of the second quarter continued, ending the first half with 27-46 behind by 19 points.

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South Korea's third quarter was even worse. Kawamura's defense collapsed, and Nishida and Baba's supportive shots continued, leading to a large number of lost points. Byun Joon-hyung seemed to fight back as he survived, but most of them, including Yeo Jun-seok, were sluggish and failed to chase properly.

Hawkinson's under-the-goal dominance and Tominaga's three-run shot fiercely targeted the South Korean rim. South Korea, which was followed by Yoo Ki-sang, Yeo Jun-seok's three-point and Lee Won-seok's dunk, fell to 46-74 at the end of the third quarter, allowing Hachimura to jumpers in succession.

The game was already over, and South Korea chased Lee Won-seok and Lee Woo-seok until the end. One, Takashima and Sasaki were allowed three consecutive points, and Hawkinson failed to control again, rather falling behind.

Lee Woo-seok didn't give up and showed his fighting spirit until the end. But there was not enough time. Japan was also confident of victory and relaxed. Despite South Korea's pursuit, he did not doubt victory. The game ended in a complete defeat for South Korea.

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[MIN JUN KU, MK Sports Reporter]