The basketball team, led by head coach Ahn Joon-ho, lost 80-88 in the second round of the Softbank Cup against Japan at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on the 7th. South Korea, which won 85-84 on the 5th, finished the away warm-up match with 1 win and 1 loss.
Japan, ranked 26th in the FIBA rankings, used the warm-up match to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics, while South Korea, ranked 50th in the FIBA, targeted the preliminary round of the "2025 FIBA Asia Cup" in November. Therefore, Japan set up the team with the best, and Ahn Jun-ho sent out young players with an average age of 24 including Byun Joon-hyung (Sangmu) and Ha Yoon-ki (Suwon KT).
South Korea lost their second showdown, following a new win in the first round. While Lee Jung-hyun (Koyang Sono) struggled with 23 points and five assists, Lee Won-seok (Seoul Samsung) and Yoo Ki-sang (Changwon LG) added 18 points and 17 points, respectively. 동행복권파워볼
Korea led the first quarter 22-19, but from the second quarter it gave Japan the momentum. Lee narrowed the gap to six points at the end of the fourth quarter with Lee Jung-hyun at the forefront, but failed to come from behind.