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.
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.
Won Jung-hwan reports.
On Thursday, South and North Korea wrapped up the second day of Unification Basketball Games in Pyongyang.
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.

But the teams were not labeled as "South" or "North."
They were distinguished by color only -- the South in blue and the North in red.
National flags and anthems weren't used either.
But the arena was packed with some 12-thousand spectators.... cheering even more enthusiastically than the previous day.

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.
The North Korean crowd even chanted the names of the South Korean players when they scored.

The women's game started first at 3:00PM at the same venue as before, the Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium.
The "blue," or the South, won 81-to-74 against the reds, but both teams received a standing ovation.
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.


"I think it's an honor to compete in front of a crowd like this,… and I'm very happy to win here."
"The North Korean players' skills are impressive, and I think we'll be even better if we train together as a joint team."

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.


"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.
"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,"

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.

But even without Kim, the game itself was once again full of harmony and reconciliation.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.