South Korea tinkers roster ahead of FIBA Asia

MANILA, Philippines -- South Korea tinkered with its lineup after its poor fifth-place finish in the Jones Cup, reactivating forwards Choi Junyoung and Moon Seonggon and also enlisting former youth standout Kang Sangjae for the coming FIBA Asia Championship.

Dropped from their 11-man Jones Cup roster are 7-foo-3 center Ha Seungjin due to hip and guard Kim Sunhyung.

Ha, a former Portland TrailBlazer in the NBA, is nursing hip and knee injuries while Kim is out for suspected involvement in game-fixing issues back home.

Park Chan Hee, Yang Donggeun, Kim Jongkyu, Lee Jonghyun, Lee Junghyun, Lee Seounghyun, Cho Sungmin, Kim Taesul and Moon Taeyoung completes the roster of the Korean team out to sustain the momentum of its gold-medal finish in the Asian Games at home in Incheon last year.

With the inconsistency of their current lineup, the Koreans are ranked No. 5 behind Iran, China, the Philippines and Chinese Taipei in the FIBA Asia Power Ranking in the run-up to the Asian meet that serves as regional qualifier for the Olympics.

A big loss to Korea earlier was star gunner Kim Min Goo after he figured in a car accident. He was a member of the Mythical Selection in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

With Ha and team captain Yang Donggeun hampered by injuries, the Korea struggled to a fifth-place finish in the recent Jones Cup behind Iran, Gilas Pilipinas, Chinese Taipei and Spartak Primorye of Russia.

The Koreans posted a measly 4-4 win-loss record, with their biggest win curiously coming at the expense of Gilas Pilipinas, 82-70.

Lee Seung-hyun fired 19 points while Moon Tae-young grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Koreans past the Filipinos.

Gilas Pilipinas upended South Korea in their semifinal battle in the last FIBA Asia. That became the Filipinos’ automatic ticket to the 2014 FIBA World Cup.