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    Korea coach admits lacking confidence ahead of Gilas game

    That despite coming off a 67-point blowout win against Thailand
    Jun 19, 2021
    Korea coach Cho Sang-hyun
    PHOTO: Fiba.basketball

    DOMINANT as Korea's 120-53 mugging of Thailand on Saturday in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers may have been, coach Cho Sang-hyun admitted that he's not really coming in confident ahead of his team's rematch with Gilas Pilipinas.

    The biggest reason for it? Ra Gun-A's situation.

    "He was out for a little bit of injury issues, so I can't say we are very confident about tomorrow's match," Cho said.

    Ra only suited up for seven minutes and registered five points and four rebounds as he got a timely breather with the blowout win.

    Cho, however, expects Ra to be in full force for the 3 p.m. game, where the Philippines and Korea, both already qualified for the continental showpiece, will battle for pride and dispute the leadership of Group A.

    "Ra's situation with his injury is not that severe. We just wanted to give him some break coming into the game tomorrow," he said.

    If there's a positive with Ra taking limited minutes against the Thais, it was Cho being able to give more exposure to his young guns.

    Davidson standout Lee Hyun-jung, 20, continued his stellar play in the Clark bubble with a stat sheet-stuffing performance of 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks. Ha Yun-gi, 22, had his best game to date with a double-double of 34 points, 10 boards, three assists, two steals, and a block, while 19-year-old prodigy Yeo Jun-seok put on a show en route to his 23 points and six boards.

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    "Actually because of Ra's absence on the court, we actually happened to gain a lot of opportunities for the younger ones. So that's something I can take advantage of going into the next game," Cho said.

    Truly, it was the confidence boost Korea needed as it looks to avenge its shock 81-78 defeat to the hosts on Wednesday.

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      And regardless of Ra's status on Sunday, the Koreans will still go all out for its final assignment in this trip.

      "I can say we have prepared all that we have up to this part. So we can say we are very ready for the game tomorrow," said Cho.
      ___

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      PHOTO: Fiba.basketball
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