Veteran basketball forward says team overcame challenges in opening victory

NAGOYA, Japan — From playing through jet lag to taking shots at an unfamiliar court, Korea dealt with challenges as it began the women's basketball tournament at the Asian Games against Malaysia on Friday. Veteran forward Choi I-saem, the team's oldest player at 32, said she and her teammates refused to make excuses and tackled those issues head-on, which is why they were able to come away with a 106-40 victory at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya. The final score belied some early shooting problems for Korea, which missed its first nine field goal attempts and went 1-of-14 out of the gate. It was Choi's three-pointer with 3:58 left in the opening quarter that gave Korea a 9-8 lead, and Korea never trailed the rest of the way. "We struggled early on, but we talked a lot about tightening things up on the defensive end after the first half," Choi said. "In upcoming games, we want to play at a faster pace and play even stronger defense." Choi, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and two steals, attributed the first-quarter shooting problems to the players' unfamiliarity, saying