South Korea snaps 12-year gold drought with men's basketball win over Japan

South Korea handed a defeat to the home side, Japan, 67-57 in the men’s basketball gold medal match, ending a 12-year title drought on Sunday, September 20, 2026.

The triumph saw South Korea finish the campaign as unbeaten, having earlier beaten Japan 100-89 in the group stage game last Sunday.

Unlike that first game, the high-stakes match turned out to be a low-scoring clash as Japan had only converted 28% from the field in the first half.

On the other hand, South Korea hardly any better at 33% over the first 20 minutes.

The South Korea forward Lee Hyun-jung led his side to secure the gold after he scored 13 points in the crucial third quarter at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya.

Lee also emerged as the leading goal scorer of the game with 27 points.

Lee, the star of the night, also earned the title of “mother-son gold medalist,” as his mother Seong Jeong-a, had also won the second Asian Games women’s gold medal in Beijing in 1990.

The big win returned Korea to the top of Asian basketball for the first time since the 2014 Incheon Games.

It also marked the country’s fifth Asian Games men’s basketball title, following wins in 1970, 1982, 2002, and 2014.

The triumph feels more special as it was South Korea’s first Asian Games men's basketball gold won abroad since the 1982 New Delhi Games.