Ra Guna leads fifth window Korean pool for Asian Qualifiers
SEOUL (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019) - He may now have a new name, but Ricardo Ratliffe is expected to bring the same old high intensity game for Korea in the Asian Qualifiers' fifth window.
SEOUL (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019) - He may now have a new name, but Ricardo Ratliffe is expected to bring the same old high intensity game for Korea in the Asian Qualifiers' fifth window.
Ratliffe will now go by his new Korean name, Ra Guna, as he hopes to carry Korea to their seventh and eighth wins in the next window of the Asian Qualifiers that begin on 30 November.
Korea 24-man pool for Asian Qualifiers fifth window | |||
An YoungJun | Choi BukYung | Choi JinSoo | Doo KyungMin |
Heo IlYoung | Heo Ung | Jeon JunBeom | Jung HyoGeun |
Kim JongKyu | Kim JunYl | Kang SangJae | Kim SunHyung |
Kim SiRae | Lee DaeSung | Lee JongHyun | Lee JungHyun |
Lim DongSeop | Oh SeKeun | Park ChanHee | Ra Guna |
Song KyoChang | Su SeoMin | Yang HeeJong | Yang HongSeok |
Joining Ra in the frontcourt will be the returning Lee JongHyun, who has played in just two Asian Qualifiers games but should add much needed rim protection to an already imposing Korean quintet.
Also in the pool are the current top local scorers in the Korean Basketball League: Oh SeKeun, Choi JinSoo and Kim JongKyu. All of them can play either center or power forward positions and should give coach Kim SanShik a lot of flexibility when picking his final roster.
Aiming to stretch opposing defenses will be top Korean three-point hitters Jeon JunBeom and Lee JungHyun. Both are among the top 10 three-point shooters in the second round, with Jeon hitting 2.0 triples per game at a 44.4% clip and Lee sinking 3.5 triples per contest at a 53.8% success rate.
Joining them at the backcourt are elite playmakers Park ChanHee and Kim SunHyung. Both guards have averaged a combined 9.5 assists per game in the second round and will certainly make things difficult for Korea's next two foes.
Korea will have two home games in the fifth window. They will host Lebanon on 29 November and then face Jordan on 2 December. Both matches will be at the Sajik Indoor Gymnasium in the coastal city of Busan.
FIBA