Today's South Korea Team was different from before.
Park Jae-joong wasn't just the pillar of South Korea's frontcourt; he was the pillar of the entire team.
On the international stage, he was clearly outmatched only by players like Towns and Wemby on Team America. Against centers from other countries, he had the advantage.
Because he had that advantage, other countries had to double-team him in the paint. That left him able to pass the ball out to open shooters for three-pointers.
His dominance in the paint was also the foundation of South Korea's one-big, four-small lineup.
It was thanks to him, along with a bit of luck, that South Korea had made it to the quarterfinals.
When Park Jae-joong heard the coach's words, he nodded. "Don't worry, Coach. I've got this!"
When they returned to the court, South Korea immediately got the ball to Park Jae-joong in the paint.
Park Jae-joong was determined to take Pang Bo on.
He tried to muscle Pang Bo out of the way, but he weighed three kilograms less than Pang Bo, so he couldn't quite move him.
Still, he had good footwork. Along with using his body, he made a couple of fakes, then got around Pang Bo with an up-and-under move.
Normally, he could have simply gone up for the layup and scored.
He'd used that move to get past many excellent centers in this year's games.
But as he went up for the layup, Pang Bo's big hand suddenly reached around from behind and slapped the ball against the backboard.
A board block!
Park Jae-joong turned to Pang Bo in astonishment.
How could that shot have been blocked?
He'd clearly gotten past that guy completely.
In fact, although Pang Bo was a little short on experience, he now had Wang Yi's awareness.