{
  "id": 7115055,
  "title": "Korea basketball coach praises team for timely effort in win over Japan",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/korea-basketball-coach-praises-team-for-timely-effort-in-win-over-7115055",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-13T14:22:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/sports/20260913/korea-basketball-coach-praises-team-for-timely-effort-in-win-over-japan"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "NAGOYA, Japan — Korea's head coach Nikolajs Mazurs commended his team for their timely performance during their decisive victory over Japan in the men's basketball tournament at the Asian Games. With Lee Jung-hyun scoring 25 points and center Jang Jae-seok contributing 18 points and eight rebounds, Korea defeated Japan 100-83, securing the top position in Group A at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan. This marked their third consecutive win, advancing them to the quarterfinals as the top seed from Group A, while Japan secured the second place. Relying on the reigning Korean Basketball League MVP, Lee, who scored three consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter and made five treys overall, and Jang who played a crucial role in the paint against the 211cm Japanese center Alex Kirk, the Korean team praised their collective effort. \"I think we did a great job today as a team,\" Mazurs remarked. \"Every player stepped up in the right moment even though it was a very competitive match.\"",
  "summary": "NAGOYA, Japan — Korea head coach Nikolajs Mazurs gave kudos to his players for stepping up in timely fashion after their resounding win over Japan in the men's basketball tournament of the Asian Games in enemy territory Sunday. Behind guard Lee Jung-hyun's 25 points and center Jang Jae-seok's 18 points and eight rebounds, Korea beat Japan 100-83 to clinch the top spot in Group A at Aichi…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "(Asiad) S. Korea basketball coach praises team for timely effort in win over Japan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/asiad-s-korea-basketball-coach-praises-team-for-timely-effort-in-win",
        "published": "2026-09-13T13:02:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Korea basketball coach praises team for timely effort in win over Japan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/korea-basketball-coach-praises-team-for-timely-effort-in-win-over",
        "published": "2026-09-13T13:27:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}