South Korea will deploy a 14-man roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers’ first window in February at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Korea Basketball Association (KBA) rolled out the pool on Wednesday, with familiarity surely the factor behind the composition.
Half of the crew were in the squad that played in the final Asia Cup Qualifiers window and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament-Kaunas in Clark last year, led by naturalized center Ricardo Ratliffe (Ra Gunah).
Other holdovers are Lee Dae-sung, Yang Hong-seok, Jeon Seong-hyen, Moon Seong-gon, Lee Seong-hyun, and Yeo Jun-seok.
Completing the cast are national team vet Kim Sun-hyung, along with brothers Heo Hoon and Heo Woong; Doo Kyung-min; Choi Jun-yong; Lee Woo-suk; and Kim Jong-kyu.
Cho Sanghyun will still call the shots for the team.
Significantly missing from the pool is young star Lee Hyun-jung, who is currently with Davidson busy with the collegiate season in the States.
Gunning for its third consecutive World Cup appearance, Korea is in Group A together with rivals Gilas Pilipinas, New Zealand, and India.
The cagers from the Far East are set to collide with the hosts twice, first on February 24 and then on the 28th.
They also face the Tall Blacks on the 25th, followed by a meeting with Indians on the 27th. They will play four games in five days.
