PROBLEMS continued to plague the Korean national team ahead of the February window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers as one of its players remains in quarantine.
Veteran guard Kim Sun Hyung is questionable for the stint as he was one of the two players from the Seoul SK Knights who tested positive for COVID-19.
The Korean Basketball League (KBL) is dealing with a spike in cases of the dreaded virus with 11 players already returning positive tests.
Six of these came from Anyang KGC, two apiece for Seoul SK Knights and Suwon KT Sonicboom, and one for Wonju DB Promy.
Kim longs for revenge
Kim was actually looking forward for the window and wanted to get back at the Philippines for the pair of losses Korea incurred in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers last June.
"Now, it is time for revenge. I am ready and confident about beating them in the two games," he said in a previous interview with Fiba.
Kim, who was part of the Korean side which also lost to the Philippines in the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship semifinals, is one of the seven returnees to the national team led by 2020 Korean Basketball League (KBL) MVP Heo Hoon and his brother Heo Woong, and veteran Kim Jong Kyu.
His positive test makes him doubtful for the Korea buildup which only starts on Friday. The team is scheduled to leave for the Philippines on Feb. 22.
Aside from Kim, also testing positive was Yang Hong Seok of the Suwon KT Sonicboom as the Korean Basketball Association (KBA) are hesitant on allowing the two to join the trainings.
Korea, though, remains formidable with naturalized center Ra Gun-A (Ricardo Ratliffe) set to lead the charge in a busy four games-in-five days schedule where it will play Gilas on Feb. 24, New Zealand on Feb. 25, India on Feb. 27, and the Philippines anew on Feb. 28, all at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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