Will the Philippines finally beat Korea?

It may be written in the stars that every time we play in a major Asian competition in the sport we most love, we get to play South Korea in an important game. In the past two decades, we have always fallen prey to the South Koreans in basketball.

I won’t go too far. In the last Asian Championship in Wuhan, China, Gilas 1 lost a painful semifinal match to Korea, 68-70, in a game they dominated three-fourths of the way. The Pinoys, then led by Serbian mentor Rajko Toroman, limited the hot-shooting Koreans to just three triples in seven tries in the first three quarters. Gilas was ahead by 11 points at the start of the payoff period. But the more experienced Koreans never panicked, and slowly clawed their way back into the game until they connected on two late treys by Cho Sung-Min and Moon Tae-Jong to put them ahead for the first time. Gilas muffed four free throws during Korea’s rally in the dying minutes. Down by two, Marcus Douthit grabbed an offensive rebound but failed to send the game into OT.

In the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Gilas 1 also succumbed to Korea in the quarterfinals, 74-66.
In the 2009 Asian Championship in Tianjin, China, the Yeng Guiao led-Philippine squad bowed twice to Korea – 56-69 in the preliminary round, and 80-82 in the battle for 7th place.

And who can forget the heartbreaking loss in Busan during the 2002 Asian Games? The usually steady Olsen Racela missed two free throws right after Asi Taulava bungled two of his own. But we were still up, 68-66, with just a few ticks left. We had two fouls to give but failed to use them. And then Lee Sang Min faked off two defenders to sink a buzzer beating three-ball that broke the hearts of millions of Pinoys. Korea got the W once more, 69-68.

A similar defeat also happened in the 1986 Seoul Asiad when the Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic-led Philippine team dropped a 102-103 controversial semifinal game to Korea.

The list goes on and on and on.

But there is always a silver lining. Both the 1986 and 2002 losses were held in Korea. This time, the Koreans will be facing Gilas 2 in front of a hostile crowd that’s hungry for vengeance.

This may be our best chance.

Now let’s review the match-ups.

I think if the Nationals play tonight the way they did against Kazakhstan last night, we might be able to finally get one over the Koreans. Last night’s 88-58 manhandling of the Kazakhs was simply amazing. Honestly, I did not expect such brilliant performance from Gilas even when I expected victory. I thought the Kazakhs were going to be a tough challenge. But Gilas made minced meat of them right from the opening tip. Last night’s win is by far the best game Gilas 2 ever played. It was close to perfect.

Coach Chot Reyes played his cards right in that quarterfinal match, and the players responded well. It was a well-balanced offense for Gilas, which drew double-digit outputs from four players. Gary David finally had his breakout game, beginning the game with a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. He led all scorers with 22 markers on 4-of-6 three-point shooting and 4-of-4 from the stripe. Jayson William also had a hot hand, drilling 2-of-3 from long distance to finish with 13 points. Japeth Aguilar seems to be improving by the day as he collected 11 points, nine boards and two blocks. Gabe Norwood, slowly building a reputation as being the “show stopper” for his remarkable defense against the opponents’ scorers, added 10 markers.

Gilas had 23 assists, 16 fast break points and 28 points in the paint. Douthit played just 22 minutes as the locals were doing the damage on Kazakhstan.

All the long, hard months of training finally bore fruit for Gilas last night. I think Chot cannot ask for more in that performance, save for a few defensive lapses.

The timing is perfect. Gilas is peaking at the best time possible. This is our best shot at finally entering the World Championship, which has eluded us since 1978.

But the Koreans are no easy targets. Like Gilas last night, they also outdid themselves, pulling off an incredible 79-52 demolition of Qatar.

Korea, I believe, is the most disciplined team in the tournament. The Koreans are like soldiers on the court, very coordinated, very fierce and relentless on both ends of the court. Like Gilas, Korea loves to run and pressure the ball. In many ways, they want the same fast paced game.

The difference lies in playing style. The Koreans hardly dribble. They take one or two dribbles before taking a shot or making a pass. In contrast, the Pinoys display their dribbling prowess. After all, they are using the dribble-drive motion offense, which suits the Filipino style perfectly.

The Koreans waste no time in offense. Their movements are swift and deliberate. When they cut, they cut hard. When they run, they run hard. And when they are open for a shot, they hardly miss.

The key for Gilas is defense. We must play physical against the Koreans and take them out of their comfort zone. They love to score. And when they are comfortable, their percentages are high. I’m pretty sure Gilas will be pressuring the ball-handlers relentlessly, which is proper.

But Korea will do the same. They know that we have many scorers and outside gunners. They will pressure hard as well and use their military training to try and break our spirit.

A major edge for Gilas will be Douthit. Without 7’3” Ha Seung-Jin and Oh Se-Keun, Korea will have headaches guarding him at the post. Even with these two defenders in Wuhan, Douthit still delivered 27 points and 22 rebounds against Korea in that battle for third game. But Korea will surely prepare for him this time. If they focus a lot on Douthit, this will open up our local shooters, which is splendid.

It’s going to be war tonight because of everything at stake – entry into the 2014 FIBA World Cup, chance to win the tournament, pride and honor of two arch basketball rivals.

A win at home against Korea will erase all those bitter defeats against the same team in the past.

I still feel we will be coming into the game as the heavy underdogs. But I have a feeling too that the law of averages will catch up on the Koreans, and that we will prevail this time.