Majuls Sailing: Philippines vs Taiwan & Japan – Basketball Schedule

[서울=뉴시스] Reporter Ha Geun-soo = The men’s basketball team, under coach Nicolais Majuls, the first foreign head coach in history, is aiming for consecutive wins by traveling to Taiwan and Japan.

The basketball team led by Coach Majuls will depart for Taiwan via Incheon International Airport on the 24th.

The basketball team was convened on the 20th and conducted final training in preparation for the 2027 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers at the Jincheon National Team Training Center in North Chungcheong Province.

Korea will play an away game against Taiwan in the third match of Group B in the first round at 8 p.m. on the 26th in Taipei, Taiwan.

Three days later, on March 1st, the 4th away game against Japan is scheduled for 2 PM in Okinawa, Japan.

Currently, Korea (2 wins, goal difference +18) is in second place, behind Japan (goal difference +33) with the same two wins.

The national basketball team is attempting to advance to the World Cup finals for the first time in eight years since the 2019 tournament.

In the first round of the Asian qualifiers, 16 teams are competing in 4 groups of 4 teams each.

In the second round, the 12 teams that ranked 1st to 3rd in each group advance, and are divided into two groups of six teams.

Here, a total of 7 teams will advance to the World Cup finals, including the 6 teams ranked 1st to 3rd in each group and the 1 team with the best performance among the two teams ranked 4th.

Korea got off to a good start by winning both games against China in the first and second games.

If they defeat both Taiwan and Japan in this two-game away game, they can aim to leap to the lead.

A winning streak is needed to comfortably prepare for the 5th game against Chinese Taipei and the 6th game against Japan, which will be played at home in July.

In terms of opponent records, Korea has an advantage over Taiwan with 25 wins and 18 losses and Japan with 46 wins and 19 losses.

High expectations are also placed on Coach Majuls, the ‘first foreign head coach’, who is making his debut.

The Korean Basketball Association’s Performance Improvement Committee reviewed the expertise, operational plan, and vision of foreign coach candidates and selected Coach Majuls, who presented a clear philosophy and vision.

Coach Majuls, a young coach born in 1980, has accumulated a wealth of experience on the international stage, starting with his country’s Latvian youth team and playing in the U-16, U-18, U-19, and U-20 national teams.

In particular, it is known that when he coached the U-18 national team in 2012, he made a significant contribution to nurturing Kristaps Porzingis (Golden State), who has now grown into a National Basketball Association (NBA) star.

Coach Majuls, who held a press conference announcing the list on the 4th, said, “We selected players from various categories. Position was also important. The form they are currently playing in the KBL was also important.”

He continued, “These people know how to play team basketball. I selected players with good energy and high team spirit. These players are players who fit the basketball philosophy and system that I want to play for the national team.”

Coach Majuls predicted, “Rather than assuming that they play fast basketball, we will focus on enhancing the players’ strengths. We will show a balanced appearance as much as possible.”

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