Chu Il-seung’s men’s basketball team has suffered a major setback in their quest for gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games, with key forward Song Kyo-chang (Commerce) quitting the team just before the tournament. Chu Il-seung uses long forwards as the core of his tactics, but the loss of players within two metres of the basket has deepened his woes .According to the Korea Basketball Association (KBA) on Tuesday, Chu’s squad was without Song Kyo-chang and guard Byun Jun-hyung (Sangmu) was named as his replacement .Song reportedly had a slow recovery after injuring his knee earlier this month. Song did not accompany the team on its training camp in Japan from 5-11 May due to the injury. This leaves Chuil Seung Ho without a forward around the 2-metre mark with both height and mobility .Despite his height of 2 metres, Song Kyo-chang has the agility and leaping ability to surpass other players in his position .At last year’s FIBA Asia Cup, he used his athleticism to defend a variety of positions, from big man to guard, and became a key resource for Chuil Seung Ho, but he missed the opportunity to showcase his talents at the tournament. Inside-outside “2-metre forwards” have been one of the most prominent areas of Korean basketball in recent years. There were a number of options, including NBA-bound Lee Hyun-jung (Illawarra), Yeo Jun-seok (Gonzaga University), who was the national team’s main shooter as a university student, and Choi Jun-yong (KCC), who is regarded as one of the best forwards in the country, but all were unable to join Chu Il-seung-ho.For Chu, who dreamed of playing ‘big forward’ basketball, it’s a shame that he didn’t get a chance to implement his philosophy .There are still tall players such as Lee Seung-hyun (197cm), Ra Gun-ah (199cm), Ha Yoon-ki (204cm) and Kim Jong-kyu (207cm), but they guard under the basket, not on the perimeter .As a result, Lee Woo-seok (Hyundai Mobis) and Yang Hong-seok (LG), who are registered at 196cm by the Basketball Association of Korea, will have to defend against the taller forwards from China and the Middle East, but both lack the height of Song Kyo-chang.Finding a way to defend scorers like Jordanian naturalised player Ronde Hollis-Jefferson, who exploded for 39 points at the FIBA World Cup New Zealand, which concluded on 10 October, is an immediate challenge for Chu. The team heads to Hangzhou for the ‘showdown’ on 23 November, where they will face Japan, 카지노사이트 Indonesia and Qatar in the group stage of the Asian Games.