BEIRUT (Lebanon) / SEOUL (Korea) – The inaugural FIBA Women’s Asia Cup Trophy received a shot in the arm with the presence of two Olympic silver medallists adding sheen to the Tour stop at the Jincheon National Training Centre in Seoul, Korea.
Kim Hwa-Soon and Sung Jung-A, both members of the Korean women’s team that won the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, were present as the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup Trophy along with the Korean National Team bound to FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2025 to be played at Shenzhen from July 13-20 was presented in a media interaction.
“It was a great pleasure and privilege to witness the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup Trophy in Korea,” said Kim Hwa-Soon, who averaged 16.8 points, 5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game leading Korea to become the first Asian team to win a medal at the quadrennial global sport extravaganza.
“World over women’s basketball is going through a revolutionary phase of much better basketball. And it is time we honour the young women with a Trophy that is dedicated to them,” added the 63-year-old who reeled in 15 points in the gold medal game against eventual winners USA at the 1984 LA Olympics.
“We were all very excited to witness the Trophy. It’s beautiful and richly deserving of the women’s basketball in Asia,” said Sung Jung-A who had returns of 7.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in Korea’s silver campaign.
“We are proud of FIBA for having a Trophy for the women’s champions of Asia. And we are also thankful to FIBA Asia for organising this Tour so that fans in Korea can witness the Trophy first hand,” added the 60-year-old who went on to represent Korea at the 1988 Seoul Olympics also.
Both expressed their national pride hoping for the Korean Women’s National team to win the Trophy.
“I wish the Korean team wins this Trophy one day,” was Sung Jung-A, who played key role in Korea’s title-triumphs at the 1984 Shanghai and 1988 Hong Kong editions of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup besides leading the team to runners-up on two occasions – at the 1986 Kuala Lumpur and 1990 Singapore editions.
“Personally, I would wish for Korea to win the Trophy. If not this time, sometime in the near future,” said Kim Hwa-Soon.
Korea incidentally head to Shenzhen jointly holding the record for highest number of titles along with China the hosts of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2025. Both have a dozen titles apiece.
FIBA