2013 FIBA Asia Championship: Korea clobbers Kazakhstan, snags second place in Group F

Korea solidified its hold on second place of Group F, after dispatching Kazakhstan, 71-47, in the second round of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships, early Wednesday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The victory allowed Korea to improve to 3-1, leap-frogging China and Kazakhstan, who boast of 2-2 records. Iran leads the group with a perfect 4-0 mark, with 1-3 Bahrain and 0-4 India bringing up the rear.  

Korea raced off against a sluggish Kazakh five, leading 11-4 on a fast break layup by Yang Donggeun. Three-pointers by naturalized point guard Jerry Jonson kept Kazakhstan from falling too far behind though, and Jonson added a buzzer-beater to trail by just two, 16-14, at the end of the first period.

Led by Kim Mingoo's eight points, Korea blasted Kazakhstan with a 13-0 run to start the second quarter. Their aggressive play on defense, as well as on the offensive glass, netted them a 29-14 lead just three minutes into the period.

Rustam Yarzagaliyev gave Kazakhstan their first bucket of the period, as their team struggled with the way Korea packed the paint. But Kazakhstan eventually wore them down as Jhnson exploded for seven markers during an 11-6 stretch, nibbingling their deficit down to 10 points with two minutes left. However, Korea took a 38-27 halftime lead after a Kim Sumhyung jam.

At halftime, Johnson had 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. But as a team, Kazakhstan were just 12-of-34 (35 percent). In contrast, Korea shot 15-of-29 (52 percent) and led 9-2 in turnover points.

Korea shored up their defensive rotations after the break, denying Kazakhstan any clean looks. On the other end, Kim Sunhyung wreaked havoc in the paint, complementing three-pointers from Cho Junyong and Kim Mingoo. Korea conceded only four field goals to Kazakhstan, posting a 57-36 margin after three quarters.

The final canto was a low-scoring affair for both teams, as neither side had broken the double-digit scoring mark with 3:32 left to play. Timur Sultanov and Moon Seonggon exchanged three-pointers, and then Kim Jongkyu finished things off at the stripe for Korea, with under a minute left. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Korea 71 - M. Kim 14, S. Kim 14, Cho 12, J. Lee 8, S. Lee 7, Yang 6, Moon 3, Yoon 2, Joo-Sung Kim 2, Jongkyu Kim 2, CHoi 1, T. Kim 0

Kazakhstan 47 - Jonson 15, Sultanov 9, Ponomarev 6, Bondarovich 6, Yargaliyev 4, Murzagaliyev 4, Yevstigneyev 3, Klimov 0, Zhigulin 0, Lapchenko 0, Bazhkin 0

Quarter scoring: 16-14, 38-27, 57-36, 71-47