There was a bit more competitive fire in the belly on Thursday in Pyongyang as basketball players from both sides of the inter-Korean border played for their respective teams.<br />However, even on the final day of the rare inter-Korean basketball series, the regime's leader Kim Jong-un, known to be an avid fan of the sport, couldn't be there to watch it for himself. <br />Won Jung-hwan reports. <br /> On Thursday, South and North Korea wrapped up the second day of Unification Basketball Games in Pyongyang.<br />Unlike the day before, when the teams were a mix of South and North Korean players,… this time the two Koreas came face to face. <br /><br /> But the teams were not labeled as "South" or "North."<br />They were distinguished by color only -- the South in blue and the North in red.<br />National flags and anthems weren't used either.<br />But the arena was packed with some 12-thousand spectators.... cheering even more enthusiastically than the previous day.<br /><br /> At the end of each quarter, the crowd sang a song called "Our Hope,"... wishing for Korea's reunification,… and they cheered regardless of which country or player had scored or made a good play.<br />The North Korean crowd even chanted the names of the South Korean players when they scored.<br /><br /> The women's game started first at 3:00PM at the same venue as before, the Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium.<br />The "blue," or the South, won 81-to-74 against the reds, but both teams received a standing ovation.<br />Afterwards, a South Korean player expressed her satisfaction with the win, and she couldn't hide her excitement about forming a joint team for the Asian Games in August.<br /><br /> <br />"I think it's an honor to compete in front of a crowd like this,… and I'm very happy to win here." <br />"The North Korean players' skills are impressive, and I think we'll be even better if we train together as a joint team."<br /><br /> In the men's game,… the 'blue' team lost against the red's by 12 points. But despite the lost for the South Korean players, it seems that they have gained something better, a friendship. <br /><br /> <br />"It was a great honor to be able to play basketball in Pyongyang in 15 years. Both South and North Korea have played their best,… and despite the result, it was a satisfied game after all. <br />"I wish we can meet again next time. If the North Korean players visits Seoul,… I would like to sincerely welcome them as much as we have been treated with their Pyongyang's cold noodles,"<br /><br /> Despite speculation that he would come, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un -- who's known for his love of basketball -- couldn't attend either game because he's currently performing on-site checks of infrastructure and facilities outside of Pyongyang.<br /><br /> But even without Kim, the game itself was once again full of harmony and reconciliation.<br />Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News. <br />
