GILAS GOES 2-0 OVER KOREANS
VICTORY came sweeter the second time around for the Philippines on Sunday afternoon after Gilas Pilipinas repeated over South Korea, 82-77, to wrap things up in the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) Asia Cup Qualifiers at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Pampanga.
The Philippines went 6-0 won-lost in Group A of the qualifiers, pulling off the feat with a cadet squad of collegiate standouts and without a reinforcement from the Philippine Basketball Association.
The victory proved Korean head coach Cho Sang-hyun wrong. He described the Philippines to be “lucky” in their first game last Wednesday when Sam Josef Belangel’s threepointer beat the buzzer for an 81-78 escape by the hosts.
Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto and William Navarro steadied the boat for the young Gilas crew each time the Koreans came threateningly close throughout the match where neither team led by more than nine points.
“It’s a little personal, we just want to show that we can hang on with the big dogs like Korea, but that’s how it was,” Ramos told the virtual post-game interview. “It felt good to win but the main thing about the game was that we learned from it, get experience from it.”
“So even if we won or lost, we would’ve come out with more experience, more stuff to improve and to learn,” added Ramos, who led Gilas with 19 points on a 5-of9 shooting from beyond the arc.
He also had five assists and three rebound.
Ramos was also the most consistent on the team with averages of 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
“This team has a fighting spirit,” said Gilas Head Coach Tab Baldwin. “Obviously, I was overjoyed to take three wins here, especially two against South Korea.”
The Philippines also completed its domination of Indonesia with a 76-51 win last Friday. The sweep included triumphs over Indonesia (100-75) and Thailand (93-61, 9369) in the first two windows of the qualifiers.
“We held Korea’s transition game,” added Baldwin, referring to Korea’s 12 against his wards’ seven.
Sotto finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, while playmaker RJ Abarrientos and Jordan Heading added 10 points apiece. Navarro contributed eight points, while naturalized player Ange Kouame had seven points and eight rebounds.
Ratliffe finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds two blocks, while Hyunjung Lee made 13 points and eight rebounds and Hongseok Yang scored 12 points for the Koreans who fell to 4-2 won-lost in the group.
Despite the loss, South Korea is joining the Philippines in the Fiba Asia Cup set from August 17 to 29 in Jakarta.
Naturalized player Lester Prosper scattered 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Indonesia dominated Thailand, 86-69, to finish its campaign on a winning note also on Sunday. Indonesia booked a 2-4 record while Thailand went winless with 0-4.
South Korea had a hot start and jumped to a 9-0 lead, only to yield to the Filipinos’ calculated plays.
The game went close in the final half, but Ramos bailed the Philippines from a two-point advantage to a 75-69 cushion with a three-point shot with close to four minutes to go.
Ratliffe, whose Korean name is Ra Gun-a, sank an undergoal stab to push his team to 77-79 with 25 seconds left in the game.
But free throws by Ramos and Belangel in the dying seconds provided Gilas breathing room, 81-77. Ramos also had a crucial offensive rebound, forcing the Koreans—who were in penalty—to give up a foul. He split his charities in the last five seconds before Hongseok Yang muffed the game’s last shot.