Kim Sunhyung of South Korea communicates with teammates during the group M match between South Korea and Cote d'Ivoire at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province, Sept. 8, 2019. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)
GUANGZHOU, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea managed to bag its first and only victory after beating Cote D'Ivoire 80-71 in the classification round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup here on Sunday.
It also marked the first win in 25 years for South Korea in a FIBA World Cup.
"I was a little bit worried before the game because we had only nine players available. I appreciated the players who worked very hard. The glory belongs to the players, " South Korean coach Kim Sang-shik said after the game.
Ra Guna scored a game-high 26 points. The American-born center averaged 22.3 points and 12 rebounds in five games at the World Cup. Charles Abouo had 15 points for Cote D'Ivoire.
Earlier in the game, Ra Guna scored eight points to power South Korea to an 18-14 lead in the first quarter.
Hoon Heo hit a three-pointer to start the second quarter and South Korea railed to a 10-0 run. The South Koreans made four three-pointers to extend their lead to 50-30 at the end of the first half.
"It was not only in the second quarter where we did a bad job, the whole first half was not a good one for us," Cote D'Ivoire coach Paolo Povia said.
After the halftime break, South Korea kept its advantage to lead 66-47 going into the fourth quarter.
Bryan Pamba hit four straight points for a 12-2 run for Cote D'Ivoire, who managed to cut the deficit to nine points at 68-59 with six minutes on the clock. However, Kim Sun-hyung scored a three-pointer and South Korea was able to come back into the game and maintained their advantage to the final whistle.
