DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Sports

Captain Kang Yi-seul says Korea gained confidence from Nigeria win

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Context piece
  • Korea defeated Nigeria 99-81 in its opening Group B game at the 2027 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, with captain Kang Yi-seul scoring 20 points, grabbing five rebounds and making seven assists.
  • Kang said the victory over a strong opponent gave Korea confidence before its next game against world No. 2 France on Sept. 6.
  • She stressed that Korea must improve its defense and have every player compete actively in physical and rebounding battles.

Kang Yi-seul had never beaten a strong opponent on such a major stage. That changed in Berlin, where the Korea captain helped lead her team to a 99-81 victory over Nigeria in its opening game at the 2027 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Kang played 29 minutes and 30 seconds, scoring 20 points, collecting five rebounds and delivering seven assists. Six of her baskets came from three-point range, helping Korea neutralize Nigeria’s outside shooting. It was Kang’s fourth World Cup appearance, and she said starting the tournament with a win over a powerful team made her especially happy.

I had never experienced winning against a strong team on such a big stage. I am happy that we could start with a victory against a strong team.

· Kang Yi-seulThe Korea captain described the significance of the opening-game win over Nigeria.

Kang also credited Korea’s defense and its interior players. She said every player maintained a high level of defensive focus, while the centers refused to avoid physical contact and held their ground against Nigeria. Her seven assists reflected another part of her contribution: when defenders closed in to stop her shooting, she used screens to create space and passed to teammates rather than forcing difficult attempts.

Today, all the players' defensive focus was very high, and I think the centers in particular played an important role in the victory by not avoiding physical contact with the opponents and holding up really well.

· Kang Yi-seulKang praised Korea’s defense and interior players after the game.

Kang said she tries to move actively in every game and create as many shooting opportunities as possible, regardless of her form on the day. Korea had beaten Nigeria once in qualifying, and that earlier experience had given her confidence even though her shooting percentage had not been high.

Korea next faces France at 3:45 a.m. Korea time on Sept. 6. Kang said the Nigeria result showed Korea could compete with physically strong teams if it met them aggressively. She added that Korea’s relatively small lineup means every player must contribute to physical contests and rebounding, while the team must make its defense even more solid.

If we do not avoid physically strong teams and fight back strongly, we gained the confidence that we can play an even game.

· Kang Yi-seulShe discussed the confidence Korea took into its next game against France.
About this summary

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog