South Korea begin their FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup campaign in the qualifiers with little expectation. But with rising star Lee Juyeong leading a well-balanced young side, they may be far more dangerous than their seeding suggests.

By Wong Chin Yi

South Korea arrive in Singapore without much fanfare around them. The 17^th-seeded team is clearly not among the favourites for the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, and their campaign starts in the qualifiers, which tells its own story about where they currently stand. There is no room for error in that position and no easy path through. But it also makes them one of the more interesting teams in the tournament. Beneath the underdog tag is a young group with genuine ability, led by a player in Lee Juyeong who looks capable of shifting the energy of a game quickly, against just about any team.

Fresh out of Yonsei University, Lee is more than just a promising name on the roster. He already has the profile of a player expected to make a serious impact in the professional ranks. In 2022, he led Korea to the FIBA U18 Asia Cup title and was named tournament MVP, ending a 22-year wait for the country’s return to the top. Just last year, he was also a standout performer at the Asian University Basketball League (AUBL), and he has developed into the clear favourite to be selected first overall in the upcoming Korean Basketball League (KBL) rookie draft. For such a young team, that kind of presence matters. It gives Korea not only talent, but a clear point of belief.

What makes Lee Juyeong especially valuable in 3×3 is how naturally his game fits the format. He is a scorer first, and that carries huge value in a version of basketball that rewards clarity and speed of thought. He can shoot from range, beat defenders off the dribble and attack the rim with real force. Just as importantly, he appears to read situations quickly and act without hesitation. That decisiveness is vital in 3×3, where games move too fast for players who need time and structure to settle in.

There are also encouraging signs in the way the rest of the squad fits around him. Lee Donggeun is the presumptive second pick in the KBL draft, and brings physicality and presence inside. Fellow Yonsei star Kim Seungwoo is as sweet a shooter as they come, and helps stretch the floor. Ku Mingyo looks like the kind of player every 3×3 team needs: active, tough and versatile enough to connect possessions and cover ground at both ends. That balance matters, and it means Lee Juyeong does not have to do everything on his own, despite his talent for creating shots and space.

That, more than anything, gives South Korea a believable identity despite their low seeding. This is not simply a young team hoping enthusiasm will carry it through. There is a recognisable shape to the side, and enough versatility to cope in a format that punishes weak links very quickly, suggesting that they may be able to show up as more than just lively outsiders.

None of that removes the difficulty of the task ahead. The qualifiers are unforgiving, and young teams can be exposed when games become tense and every possession starts to feel heavier. Korea will need to be sharp from the opening game. Even so, that pressure may actually play in their favour – for such a young team, there is no burden of expectation and no need to overthink the game. Their job is straightforward: trust their talent and their game plans, lean on their young starlet whenever games get tight, and then see whether that upside can help them make some noise in the main draw.

If they do make that step, Lee Juyeong will be at the centre of it all, and he will surely become a name to remember for Singaporean fans, just as many other starlets have in the preceding years while leading their teams to breakthroughs. As the main draw approaches, Lee and his team represent the thing every favourite worries about: an underdog with a young star who can catch fire, make shots and change the whole tone of a game before anyone has time to even register his name.