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The story
On September 20, in the Asian Games men’s basketball final at Aichi International Arena, world No. 57 South Korea defeated world No. 22 Japan 67-57 to claim its fifth gold medal and first in 12 years. Japan had reached the final for the first time in 64 years but couldn’t hold its lead and suffered a come-from-ahead loss. South Korea’s ace, Lee Hyun-jung, has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers for next season, and this gold medal makes him eligible for exemption from South Korea’s mandatory military service. On 5ch, the main point of debate was a “difference in seriousness”: South Korea, with exemptions on the line, fielded a near-full-strength roster using its overage player slots, while Japan — in a sport where it has other major tournaments like the Asian Cup — prioritized developing younger players and didn’t field its best lineup.
“Asian Games Men’s Basketball Final: Japan National Team 57–67 South Korea National Team” (September 20, Aichi International Arena)
World No. 57 South Korea, fielding a youth-driven squad, defeated world No. 22 Japan — which had reached the final for the first time in 64 years — to win its fifth gold medal and first in 12 years. Ace Lee Hyun-jung and others, who signed an “Exhibit 10” contract with the NBA’s Trail Blazers for next season, secured a military service exemption with this gold.
In the 1st quarter, South Korea took the lead behind three-pointers from Lee Hyun-jung and others. Japan fought back with three-pointers from Kanechika and others, forcing turnovers with tenacious defense to catch up and take the lead. The quarter ended 12–16 in South Korea’s favor. The 2nd quarter stayed tight throughout, with neither team giving ground, ending the first half tied 28–28.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
They had a guy with an NBA Exhibit 10 deal, so were they going full-strength?
Pretty much their full best lineup.
They even had Seattle's prized gem on the roster.
Meanwhile football won 7-0… should've just watched that instead.
Japan did put together a somewhat more serious squad than usual for basketball, but it's still U-21 with no overage players, same as ever. Facing a Korea packed with U-23 overseas pros plus overage players going all out, Japan's win rate is probably 30% at best.
Scoring 7 against Kyrgyzstan doesn't mean anything.
Japan's offense just never clicked.
Still, good to see a proper nail-biter (セメントマッチ, 5ch slang for a tight, grinding low-scoring game) for once.
The World Cup qualifier with Hachimura was way too one-sided to be interesting.
Well, military exemption is a huge deal, so…
He's not even NBA-level to begin with.
He was a bench player even in the Australian league.
I thought the same thing 10 years ago.
But the reality is mixed-heritage players (ハーフ, "haafu") only dominate through their teens — once they hit their twenties, even "pure" Japanese players start overtaking them.
Pick a best-five lineup and Hachimura is the only mixed-heritage player who makes it. That's been the story for the last 10 years.
The rest is one naturalized foreign-born center and three "pure" Japanese players.
For other countries this is supposed to be a place for developing young players and gaining experience.
Meanwhile Japan is apparently going all-out to sabotage them off the court to win lol
Winning gold at the Asian Games gets you a military exemption no matter the sport.
They're more desperate for the exemption than for the gold itself.
Same as the Olympics — there's a military exemption on the line.
For Koreans, an Asian Games gold carries the same value as an Olympic gold.
They're in full serious mode, even using their overage slots.
Korea's been on a winning streak in football too lately.
They call up even their Europe-based players and come in hard for the military exemption.
Winning Asian Games gold is far easier than finishing top-3 at the Olympics.
1. Football
2. Badminton
3. Swimming
4. Basketball
5. Cycling
6. Volleyball
7. Cricket
8. Table tennis
9. Tennis
10. Boxing
http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/samuraigoal/imgs/a/c/ac7ab344.png
That's exactly why even within Korea, a 2023 survey found as many as 44.5% saying it's inappropriate to grant military exemptions to elite athletes.
It's still fresh in memory how a Korean reporter mocked Son Heung-min's exemption before the World Cup — quite a few Koreans actually dislike the Asian Games exemption system.
For ball sports where Japan also has the Asian Cup, the Asian Games get used to develop backup players instead.
Depending on the sport, the Asian Games carry almost no prestige or value at all.
Saw this floating around yesterday — it was laid-back enough that a Japanese fan actually posted hoping Korea would win because this player's military service was riding on it.
He's trying for the NBA this season, but up through last season he was playing in Japan.
For women's volleyball it's pretty much the best lineup except for Ishikawa.
And yet they struggled against Indonesia, which had the fans panicking.
No idea why they put Wada and Sato in that lineup.
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Under South Korea’s military service law, athletes who win an Olympic medal or an Asian Games gold medal can qualify for exemption from mandatory military service as “culture and sports personnel.” Lee Hyun-jung, who won gold this time, has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers for next season, so the exemption is a big deal — it lets him keep pursuing the NBA without worrying about his age. Where opinions split on the thread was over the difference in how seriously each country treated the Asian Games. South Korea fielded what was effectively its best lineup, even using overage player slots, while Japan treats the Asian Games as a development ground for younger players in sports where it has higher-status tournaments like the Asian Cup — and again didn’t field its best team this time. This “asymmetry in seriousness” got talked about even more than the final score. One easily misunderstood point: even within South Korea, skepticism toward athletic military exemptions runs deep — a 2023 survey found 44.5% called them “inappropriate.” There was also the incident where a Korean reporter’s comments mocking Son Heung-min’s exemption sparked backlash, showing the exemption system doesn’t have unanimous support even within Korean society.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Asian Games] Men’s Basketball: South Korea Wins Gold for First Time in 3 Asian Games, Comes From Behind to Beat Japan — NBA Hopeful Lee Hyun-jung and Others Get Military Exemption.”
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