Yeo Jun Seok makes way to U19 team after helping Korea reach Asia Cup in senior debut

SEOUL (Korea) - Korea's training camp for the upcoming FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2021 will receive major reinforcements as Yeo Jun Seok joins the team after helping the country's senior national team qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021.

Yeo got a boost in confidence during the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers as he averaged 12.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in the three games while making his senior national team debut. The 19-year-old's top showing was 23 points and 6 rebounds in a blowout win over Thailand. That came after he collected 12 points and 4 rebounds versus Indonesia and preceded the big man picking up 2 points and 2 rebounds against Philippines.

Yeo will be one of the main leaders for Korea at next month's U19 World Cup - the fifth appearance for the country in the last six editions and eighth overall.

This will be the first time that Yeo is playing with his age group for Korea on the international stage. Before the Asia Cup Qualifiers, he played at the FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2018 and averaged 16.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks despite being two years younger than the rest of the competition. He also participated in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in 2020 and played with the Australian Centre of Excellence in 2019 at the NBA Academy Games.

 
Yeo will now join his U19 teammates who have been preparing for the tournament in Daugavpils and Riga from July 3-11, where they will face Argentina, France and Spain in Group C.

Included on the mix of Korean high school and college players is center Shin Juyoung, who teamed up with Yeo in guiding Yongsan High School to the Korean high school national title.

FIBA