TOKYO-- Managers set to compete in the Tokyo Olympic baseball tournament starting this week believe winning medals will come down to fundamentals.

South Korea is the defending champion in baseball, having won the gold the last time the sport was contested in the Olympics 13 years ago in Beijing. South Korean manager Kim Kyung-moon is back on the dugout for the second straight Olympics, and he stressed the importance of "teamwork."

"Of course, pitching, defense, hitting and base running are all crucial," Kim said at a joint press conference on Wednesday at Yokohama Baseball Stadium in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, South Korea will take on Israel there at 7 p.m. Thursday to begin its gold medal defense.

"But for our team in particular, tight teamwork is especially important," Kim added.

Eric Holtz, manager of Israel, said the team with the best pitching and the strongest defense will have the best chance to win, and called South Korea "super talented and incredibly athletic."

"They'll be well coached and play fundamental baseball," Holtz said. "We're going to have to get them out of their comfort zone a little bit to be successful. We're going to try to pitch, play defense and hit the ball around to make something happen."

Mike Scioscia, the U.S. manager who will face South Korea on Saturday, said he expected to see "speed and situational hitting" in the Olympic tournament.

"We feel pretty confident about our pitching and hitting," said Scioscia, the 2002 World Series-winning manager for the Los Angeles Angels. "We'll try to limit mistakes that we make."

South Korea comes in ranked third in the world, one spot above the U.S. The three other teams in the tournament, Japan (first), Mexico (fifth) and the Dominican Republic (seventh), are all in the top 10.

Israel, which made it to the Olympics in September 2019 via Africa/Europe qualifiers, is way down the list at No. 24, But Holtz bristled at the notion that Israel will be pushed around by baseball powers of the world.

"I think we should be considered one of the world powers as well. We've proven we deserve to be here," he said. "We'll be ready to go against anybody that steps on the field against us. We've waited two years to be here. We're hoping to build the sport in Israel as well."

Source: Yonhap News Agency