Shoddy bus arrangements strike again at Asian Games as men’s basketball team misses prefinal practice

The men's national basketball team was forced to miss its shootaround on Sunday before the final of the Asian Games after its scheduled shuttle bus did not show up.

South Korea is set to take on the host country Japan in the gold medal contest of the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya at 7:40 p.m. Sunday.

According to national team officials, the team had scheduled a shootaround at a practice gym Sunday morning. However, a shuttle bus that had been assigned to the team for about 10 a.m. did not come to the team hotel, without any explanation.

South Korea is trying to win its first men's hoops gold since 2014.

A national team official said the players will try to maintain their composure as they gear up for the final.

Sunday is the first day of medal competition following the opening ceremony from the previous night. Preliminary action in men's basketball started Sept. 10.

In the days leading up to the opening ceremony, the Asiad organizers had faced heat for shoddy operations.

The South Korean men's football team dealt with multiple transportation issues. The organizing committee apologized to South Korea for playing the North Korean anthem before a South Korean men's field hockey game last week. Then on Saturday, no anthem was played prior to a women's handball game between South Korea and Hong Kong.

South Korea earlier filed a complaint with the organizers for highlighting Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a Japanese warlord who led the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598, during a ceremony welcoming a cruise ship serving as a floating hotel for athletes.

Yonhap