Обсуждение участника:La Gun-ah, who has finished his national team career, “the ball goes to the Basketball Association and KBL”
Laguna said goodbye, "I was always grateful for accepting me as a member."
"I want to continue. But now the ball has passed to the Korea Basketball Association and KBL, not me. It is not in my hands."
La Geon-ah (KCC), a ‘special naturalized player’ who has been at the forefront of Korean basketball as a member of the national team, says he wants to play for his country in the future.
La Gun-ah finished his career as a national team player with the final match against Thailand (96-62 win) in the 2025 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup Preliminary Group A second round match held at the Wonju Sports Complex in Gangwon-do on the 25th.
La Gun-ah, whose 'four-way contract' that includes not only the professional basketball team Busan KCC but also the national team and KBL expires in May, played for only about 17 minutes and scored 15 points, showing off her remaining skills.
If the parties do not agree on an extension contract, today will be Laguna's last game wearing the national team uniform.
As it is a complex multi-party contract, if one of the parties fails to reach an agreement, Laguna's national team career will end on this day without any major twist.
If the Korea Basketball Association finds another naturalized player, La Gun-ah's relationship with the national team will not continue.Since his contract with KCC is ending, La Gun-ah must find a way to make an enemy of his domestic team, including renewing his contract.
Although Laguna's skills have dropped significantly since 2018 when he succeeded in special naturalization, it will be difficult for him to accompany the Korean national team even if he does not lower his price.
Even if a recruitment offer comes from an overseas team and he accepts it, he will have to leave Korea, making multi-party contracts like before impossible.
After the game, Laguna met with reporters in the common reporting area and said goodbye.
Laguna said, “I was always grateful to (Korean fans) for accepting me, especially when I was going through my ups and downs, as a member of you,” and added, “Even if I am not a member of this team, I will continue to remain a passionate fan.”
La Gun-ah, who said 'thank you' in Korean, said, "I hope we continue to improve. In my opinion, we are moving in the right direction," and gave a veteran-like request.
He said, "We didn't show our best performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but we showed our potential in these two games (FIBA Asian Cup qualifiers)," and "Now we have to move on from this point."
In order for Laguna to continue wearing the national team uniform, he must first pass the association's internal evaluation.
Laguna took the court as captain in the first game of Group A (71-85 loss) against Australia, which was played away on the 22nd, and played very well with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
However, he had difficulty maintaining his body throughout the process of preparing for the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, and his mobility and activity level have recently decreased.
At the time, there were doubts in the basketball world as to whether La Gun-ah played with the sense of responsibility befitting the national team.
Coach Ahn Jun-ho, who will later evaluate La Gun-ah, who has overturned the negative views to some extent through his recent performance, was asked about his plans for becoming a naturalized player. He replied, "I have a lot of thoughts, but I don't think I can talk about them right now. If I have the opportunity, I will summarize them and tell you."
He continued, "It's been 13 years since Laguna participated in the Korean league. It's already been 7 years with the national team," and encouraged him, "He takes on the roles of not only captain but also manager and coach. It's a position to communicate on behalf of the players, and he did an excellent job." .
Coach Ahn, who praised the leadership of Kim Jong-gyu (DB) along with La Gun-ah, said, “It is thanks to La Gun-ah and Kim Jong-gyu that we were able to take a meaningful first step,” and added, “They will continue to provide energy to the national team with good performances.” He praised. 한국야동