South Korea's women's basketball team failed to reach the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup after a lopsided loss to Germany in a playoff game.
South Korea, ranked No. 15 in the world and coached by Park Soo-ho, lost 94-56 to 11th-ranked Germany in Berlin on Wednesday.
South Korea qualified for its 17th consecutive World Cup in March but again fell short of the quarterfinals, which it last reached in 2010.
The 16-team tournament featured four groups, with each group winner advancing directly to the the quarterfinals. The second- and third-place teams entered playoffs for the remaining four spots.
South Korea opened group play with a a convincing win over Nigeria before losing to France and Hungary to finish third in Group B.
Against Germany, however, South Korea could not overcome a significant size disadvantage. Germany's roster includes seven players over 1.90 meters and has an average height of 1.87 meters.
Without star center Park Ji-su, South Korea had no player over 1.90 meters and averaged 1.77 meters. StartingStarting center Jin An also missed Tuesday's game's game because of poor physical condition.
Germany outrebounded South Korea 46-30.
South Korea remained level through the middle of the first quarter, but Germany scored eight unanswered points after the game was tied 11-11 and pulled away. Germany led 46-29 after two quarters and extended the margin to 30 points at 68-38 late in the third.
South Korea removed its key players while trailing 85-56 with about three minutes remaining, and Germany closed the game with nine straight points.
Lee Hae-ran led South Korea with 21 points, while Kang Yi-seul scored 17, including three 3-pointers.
"We expected a difficult game and prepared extensively, but our lack of size and the absence of our injured big players prevented us from executing on either end," Park said.
Park said South Korea must find new ways to compete against taller teams while improving its shooting and defense.
"Germany was much stronger than when we faced it in March," Kang said. "We tried to show our best, but our weaknesses in size and physicality were clear. Despite the margin, the tournament gave us hope that we can become a stronger team."
South Korea will next prepare for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. It was drawn alongside Taiwan, Malaysia and Mongolia in Group C and will open against Malaysia on Sept. 18.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)
