(Asiad) S. Korea reaches men's basketball final

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea claimed the top spot in Pool D of the women's volleyball tournament at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after defeating Vietnam in the final preliminary match on Friday. The team emerged victorious with a 3-1 scoreline (25-21, 25-21, 26-28, 25-18) at the Park Arena Komaki, located north of Nagoya, Japan.

In the pool, South Korea secured three wins, while Vietnam finished second with two wins and one loss. Both teams, however, had already qualified for the quarterfinals. South Korea will face Kazakhstan, the runner-up in Pool B behind China, in the eight-team knockout stage, which is set to begin on Sunday. The South Korean team demonstrated their dominance by maintaining a 101-88 advantage in attack and a 9-6 lead from the service line throughout the match.

The first set saw a back-and-forth struggle, with South Korea falling behind 19-18 before rebounding to win 25-21, thanks to two consecutive service winners by setter Kim Da-in. In the second set, South Korea extended their lead early on with diverse offensive plays, including a crucial block by middle blocker Na Hyun-soo and an ace by Lee Da-hyeon.

Despite Vietnam leveling the score in the latter part of the set, South Korea managed to keep their lead intact, securing the set 25-21. In the third set, South Korea started strong due to quick sets to their middle blockers, but Vietnam managed to tighten their defense, leading 15-14 and widening the gap to 20-17. Lee Da-hyeon's quick attack and two aces by Kim Da-in proved instrumental as South Korea managed to even the score at 20-20.

The deadlock was broken in the fourth set, with outside hitter Yuk Seo-young's spikes and Lee Da-hyeon's quick attacks giving South Korea a 17-12 lead. Kang So-hwi's kills and Lee Da-hyeon's block contributed to South Korea's decisive 25-18 victory in the fourth set.