Lee Hyun-joong (24) of the Illawarra Hawks will appear at Sono Arena in Goyang. He will play for the Korean national team for the first time in three years, and it will be his first time to stand in front of Korean fans. His performance as Korea's best shooter and the only overseas player of the Korean national team is drawing keen attention from fans, who are determined to lead the team by claiming to play the role of ace.

"I am so honored to be here to represent my country once again," Lee told reporters after training to prepare for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup preliminary match against Indonesia at Sono Arena in Goyang on Tuesday. "I've always wanted to play (for the national team), and I have a good schedule this time. I'm really excited because it's my first time performing in front of fans in Korea."카지노사이트

After moving to the U.S. early in high school, Lee Hyun-joong, who played overseas including the U.S. college basketball, the NBA's lower G-League, the Australian National Basketball League, and the Japanese B-League, already won the national flag in 2021 when he was a student at Davidson University in the U.S. At the time, he drew attention as the most promising player in Korean basketball, and displayed extraordinary presence at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifying tournament. However, he was excluded from the finals of the Asian Cup due to his academic schedule, which made him difficult to connect with the national flag. This time, however, he joined the national team and re-appointed the national flag for the first time in three years.

In particular, the presence of an ace who will lead the team is important as there are many injuries to the national team. Naturally, attention is focused on Lee Hyun-joong, who is only expressing his determination to lead the team to victory by willingly taking on the role of leading the team rather than showing pressure. It also means that he has that much confidence.

"It is regrettable and unfortunate that there were many injuries, but all 11 other players are also qualified to be national team members. If you play it properly, you will have good results," Lee said. "Each player will have their own thoughts and skills. I am not the oldest in the national team, but I will lead the team by playing the role of vocal leader." Lee Hyun-joong, who was born in 2000, is the third youngest player in the national team after Moon Yoo-hyun (20, Korea University) and Yoo Ki-sang (23, Changwon LG).

He also boosted his team's momentum just before the call-up of the national team. While playing for 21 minutes in the match against the Sydney Kings on Monday (Korea time), he scored 16 points, recorded the second-highest number of four rebounds, and one block. This is the highest number of goals scored by an individual player this season. In this season's NBL, he has 8.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists for an average of 16.8 minutes in 11 games. Now, he is ready to continue his momentum in the national team.

Still, he has no intention of standing out alone. "Of course, team wins are more important than individual statistics," Lee said. "Compared to three years ago, we have matured a lot mentally. Even if the game doesn't end well, we can save our team members. I think I have become a player who puts more emphasis on team wins than on personal matters."

Lee Hyun-joong has the only goal of winning the two consecutive games, which will lead to Indonesia on April 21 and Australia on April 24. He also has the mindset that Lee holds as a member of the national team. "I want to win all the national team matches that I play. Of course, I want to win," he said. "I think it will be better if the players want to play with me."

Korea lost to Australia in the first preliminary match, and beat Thailand in the second preliminary match to post one win and one loss. It is the second in Group A following Australia (two wins). After the two consecutive rounds at Sono Arena in Goyang, Korea will hold two consecutive rounds of preliminary matches with Thailand and Indonesia in February next year. If Korea ranks within the second place in the group or ranks among the top four teams in the third place in the six groups, Korea can advance to the finals in Saudi Arabia in August next year.