The Korean curse continues
Gilas Pilipinas’ aspirations of going further in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup were shattered into pieces, as they were outclassed by a fiery Korea side, 118-86, Thursday morning at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Beirut, Lebanon.
Gilas’ disappointing loss, aside from being knocked out of the continental meet, puts to waste their stellar performance in the group stage just days ago where they lorded over the likes of China, Iraq, and Qatar in Group B.
Terrence Romeo powered Gilas with 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, all of which which he scored in the second quarter alone. Christian Standhardinger supplied 17 markers, while Roger Pogoy added 12.
The Filipinos were still in the game during the first half, but things went south come the second half.
South Korea went on an onslaught and outscored Gilas, 29-13, in the third, lifting them to a commanding 86-62 lead at the end of the frame.
That spelled the beginning of the end for the Pinoys. They bled for points, and the East Asian cagers would not be denied, as their impeccable shooting lifted them to a lead as huge as 34, after a Chan Hee Park trey with 2:37 left to play.
Castro chipped in 11 markers and four dimes for the Philippines, while Japeth Aguilar finished with seven points and nine rebounds.
June Mar Fajardo saw action for the first time in the tournament after not playing in the group stage due to right calf issues, and he scored just two in the four shots he took. He also added four rebounds in six minutes of action.
Star forward Oh Sekeun led the East Asians with 22 points. Guard Sunhyung Kim scattered 21 markers, while Jungkyu Kim produced 15 points. Park nearly had a double-double of his own with nine markers and nine dimes.
The Koreans shot an excellent 67 percent from the floor, going 16-of-21 from three-point distance. Much of their shots came from the 34 assists they dished. Furthermore, they had 10 more defensive boards, 24-14.
The Filipinos, on the other hand, shot just 45 percent from the field, and their defense went loose as they also allowed Korea to make 17 fastbreak points.
The Scores:
Gilas Pilipinas 86 – Romeo 22, Standhardinger 17, Pogoy 12, Castro 11, Aguilar 7, Wright 6, Jalalon 5, Abueva 2, Almazan 2, Fajardo 2, Cruz 0, Norwood 0.
South Korea 118 – Oh 22, Kim S H 21, Kim J K 15, Lee S H 14, Lee Ju H 11, Choi 9, Heo 9, Park 9, Yang 5, Jeon 3, Lim 0.
Quarterscores: 18-26, 49-57, 62-86, 86-118.
