HAMBURG (FIBA U17 World Championship) – Poland, largely impressive yesterday against Australia, continued their good start to the tournament with a 14 point victory against a resilient Korea team.

From the jump ball it was obvious that this was going to be a fast pace game. Poland were the first out of the blocks as they set out to control the game.

However, Korea’s fast breaks, which had been a feature in their late night game with Spain on Friday, were yet again used to good effect. But Poland’s shooting percentages improved, the pressure started to tell and the Asians began to miss from the field. By the end of the first quarter the Poles had opened up a nine point lead.

The story was much the same during the second quarter, as the gap grew to 18 points. In spite of their shorter and slighter build, the Koreans – considered underdogs in this Championship – can be applauded for their tenacity. Seonggon Moon’s shooting skills and Dong Yeop Lee’s solid perimeter play kept Korea in the game for longer than many would have expected.

But ultimately the gap, which was opened up between the end of the first quarter and the middle of the second, would widen further still late in the game with Korea exposing themselves as they pushed hard.

In the end, Korea’s man-to-man defense fell short of what is required at international level. Key for Poalnd were Mateusz Ponitka excellent scoring stats (26 points) and Piotr Niedzwiedzki’s total domination of the rebounding stats (17 rebounds) were enough for Poland to make it two from two.

Quotes:

Kim Seung Hwan, Korea head coach: “Yesterday we had a late game so we were very tired. It was a hard game but we have to pay credit to Poland, who played very well.”

Grzegorz Zielinski, Poland assistant coach: “Poland is lucky to win this game. Korea played a very aggressive and technical game. But Poland’s strategy was to use our physical advantages.”

FIBA