Four South Korean university-age players delivered the country's first Asian Games gold in men's 3x3 basketball, beating Qatar 19-10 in the final in Nagoya. The title also became South Korea's 800th gold medal across its Asian Games history, adding a broader national milestone to a result already significant for the young 3x3 program.
A young roster wins a new title
The team was unusually young, with an average age of 21.7, and the Korean reports noted that none of the four players was a professional. Lee Ju-young, Kim Seung-woo, Lee Dong-geun and Koo Min-kyo reached the final under coach Bae Gil-tae and then controlled a game played to the short, high-pressure format of 3x3 basketball.
The nine-point winning margin matters in a format where possessions are compressed and momentum can turn quickly. South Korea had not previously won the men's 3x3 title since the discipline entered the Asian Games program. The result therefore gives the country a first championship reference point in an event that demands different spacing, decision-making and conditioning from conventional five-on-five basketball.
The medal also came during a strong basketball stretch for South Korea at the Games. Korean coverage placed the 3x3 victory alongside the men's five-on-five success, while the 3x3 team itself offered a separate development story: a group without a professional player won an international title against national teams assembled specifically for the format.
The medal now shifts attention to how South Korea develops 3x3 specialists. The format has its own international circuit and selection demands, and a first Asian Games gold gives coaches and federations a concrete result to use when deciding how much specialized training, competition exposure and player development to put behind it.