Park Jisoo's 'Double-Double' Effort Not Enough... Women's Basketball Loses to Canada, Suffering '2 Consecutive Defeats'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Our women's basketball national team suffered a heavy defeat against Canada, ranked 4th in the world, in the second group stage match of the Tokyo Olympics.

Led by head coach Jeon Ju-won, the team lost 53-74 to Canada in the second match of Group A at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Ranked 19th in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) world rankings, Korea fought well against the world’s 3rd ranked powerhouse Spain in the first match on the 26th but lost 69-73 after failing to overcome the final hurdle. Against 4th ranked Canada, they lost momentum sharply in the second half and suffered a complete defeat.

With two consecutive losses, Korea must win against 8th ranked Serbia on the 1st of next month to have a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.

The national team struggled with outside shooting in the game against Canada, as they did in the first match. They maintained a difference of around 10 points in the first half, but the gap widened sharply in the second half. From the 4th quarter, the gap grew significantly, and they could not overturn the result.

Park Ji-su scored 15 points and 11 rebounds, recording a double-double for the second consecutive game, and contributed 5 blocks in a strong performance. Kim Dan-bi and Kang Yi-seul added 11 points each but could not prevent the defeat.

Canada’s Bridget Carleton scored the highest with 18 points for both teams, and Natalie Achonwa, who has experience playing in Korea, recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds.